Surrender
by TARDIS-set-adrift
Summary: The Orient Express in space, a shrinking TARDIS, an arboreal takeover and Aderyn is trying to be nice...what could possibly go wrong? Part 11 of the Broken Girl series
1. A Good One to End On

**An enchanting trip on the Orient Express, a shrinking TARDIS, an arboreal take over and Aderyn trying to be nice...what can go wrong?**

 **Part 11 of the Broken Girl series.**

 **Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this series so far.**

 **I don't own Doctor Who or its characters...just Aderyn.**

* * *

With considerably less enthusiasm than normal, the Doctor pulled open the TARDIS door.

"Your train awaits, my lady." He said. He held open the door and Clara slipped passed him.

"Wonderful." She said, looking around at the luggage racks and suitcases that lined the walls.

"The luggage car. But thanks for lying." The Doctor said quietly. He closed the TARDIS door and walked down the carriage, putting his hand on the door ahead of them "The real world is through here though." He opened the door and, once again, held the door for Clara to go through first. She was instantly awestruck by the sight that greeted her. The carriage they emerged into was clearly the dining car. The decor was very 1920s and she had been right to take the Doctor's advice in wearing a bead and sequin covered flapper's dress.

"There were many trains to take the name Orient Express." The Doctor said "But only one in space."

Clara was still awestruck by the inside of the train that she hadn't even noticed the stars and nebulas drifting gently passed the windows. "Completely faithful recreation of the original Orient Express. Except slightly bigger. And in space. Oh, and the rails are actually hyperspace ribbons. But in every other respect, identical. Painstaking attention to detail." The Doctor continued. He smiled at Clara when she turned to look at him. His smile faded "You're doing it again."

"Doing what?" Clara asked.

"That smile."

"Yes, I'm smiling."

The Doctor sighed " It's the sad smile. It's a smile but you're sad. It's confusing. It's like two emotions at once. It's like you're malfunctioning."

"Sorry." Clara said quietly.

"I just though this one be a good one to..." The Doctor started.

"End it." Clara finished "Yeah. It is. It's a good choice. A good one to end on."

The Doctor held out his arm, offering it to Clara "Shall we?"

She took the Doctor's arm and allowed him to lead her further into the carriage. He led her to a small table by the window and she was soon lost in gazing at space around her. She had often stood by the open TARDIS doors with the Doctor, the previous Doctor, and watched space go passed below them. But she had never watched the calmness of space drift passed with this Doctor. And it broke her heart that the one time she had looked into space, no running for their lives, no panicked rushing around, just standing and watching, with this Doctor, would be the last time she was with the Doctor is space, last time travelling. This was her last chance to stand next to the Doctor somewhere other than her living room.

"Oh, I remember when this was all planets as far as the eye could see. All gone now. Gobbled up by that beast." The Doctor said, looking out of the train window. He looked down at Clara, who was also looking out of the window. "There's that smile again. I don't even know how you do that."

"I really thought I hated you, you know?" She said quietly.

"So glad you kept that to yourself." The Doctor sighed. "There was this planet, Obsidian. The planet of perpetual darkness."

But Clara wasn't done "I did. I did hate you. In fact, I hated you for weeks."

"Good, fine. Well, I'm glad that we cleared that up. There was also a planet that was made completely of shrubs." The Doctor said.

"I went to a concert once. Can't remember who it was. But do you know what the singer said?"

The Doctor sighed and gave up on trying to teach her about the planets that had once been there. "Frankly, that would be an absolutely astonishing guess if I did know."

"She said, "hatred is too strong an emotion to waste on someone that you don't like.""

The Doctor frowned "Were people really confused? Cos I'm confused. Did everybody leave?"

Clara chuckled lightly "Shush. Shut up. Look, what I'm trying to say is, I don't hate you. I could never hate you. But I can't do this any more. Not the way you do it."

The Doctor had always been a bit odd when it came to expressing any emotion. It was easier with some regenerations than others. And it would seem that this regeneration couldn't form the words to say everything that needed to be said, to find the right response to everything that was said. This was one of those times when he just didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell her that he didn't want her to go, he liked having her around. As much as he knew Aderyn wasn't a fan of Clara, she had said it herself, Clara was good for him.

"Can I talk about the planets now?" He said eventually.

Clara smiled sadly at him, but he wasn't looking. "Yeah, go on."

The Doctor pointed out of the window "Thedion Four. Constant acid rain. Had a lovely picnic there once, wearing a gas mask."

"That's a lie."

The Doctor and Clara looked round. A young woman was staring at them, her expression somewhat angry.

"I'm sorry?" Clara said.

"That's a lie, what you said. Thedion Four was destroyed thousands of years ago, so you couldn't have been there."

A high ranking guardsman approached the woman. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Miss Pitt, are you sure you wouldn't rather rest in your room?"

The woman turned to the guard and pointed a threatening finger at the Doctor "That man is a liar."

The guard waved his hand at a man, another guard, who stepped forward.

"Perhaps you'd allow Mister Carlyle here to escort you back." The second guard steered her down the carriage, away from the Doctor and Clara.

"Sorry about that. I suppose it's understandable in the circumstances. I don't believe we've been introduced. Captain Quell." The Captain smiled at Clara and the Doctor.

"I'm Clara." Clara said "This is the..."

"Doctor!"

Clara groaned as Aderyn stepped around Captain Quell.

"Ah, Miss Tyler," Quell said "Am I to assume these two are with you?"

Aderyn wiped the surprised smile from her face "Yes, sorry, yes they are. I requested that The Doctor and Miss Oswald come along as my guests. I apologise for not informing you. Slipped my mind."

"Another doctor? We've got doctors and professors coming out of our ears on this trip." Quell smiled at Aderyn "That's not a problem, Miss Tyler. We still have some rooms free."

When Quell walked away, the Doctor and Clara regretted looking at Aderyn. She looked fearsomely angry.

"What are you two doing here? I finally get something big to investigate by myself and then you two rock up." She hissed.

"Investigating what?" The Doctor asked keenly.

"Doctor!" Clara hissed "We had no idea you were here."

"Then what are you doing here? This isn't exactly the kind of place the Doctor normally goes."

Clara smiled sadly at Aderyn "This is our last hurrah."

"Last hurrah? What do you mean?"

"It's a long story." The Doctor said.

Aderyn awkwardly grabbed three flutes of Champaign from a passing waitress, giving one to Clara and the Doctor "Then start talking."


	2. I Know Exactly What it Sounds Like

"So this is it? This is the last time you'll be travelling together." Aderyn asked.

"Yeah, this is it." Clara said.

Aderyn looked at the Doctor. He didn't seem to be paying attention. His gaze flitted around the room and then out of the window.

"But why?" She asked.

"Why do you even care?" Clara asked quietly.

"It doesn't matter." Aderyn shook her head. "Just keep the Doctor away from my investigation."

"What are you investigating?" The Doctor asked suddenly.

"Nothing I can't handle." Aderyn said curtly before walking away.

"Something happened here." The Doctor said "And whatever it is, she's investigating it. And I don't know what it is."

"Doctor, we're not here to investigate." Clara said. She stood "I'm going to see if someone has sorted out rooms for us yet." She stood and left the Doctor staring out of the window.

He had no idea that he had spent almost an hour looking out of the window. He had no idea that Clara had long since been given a room and that Aderyn had made her way back to the dining carriage. That was, until she threw herself into the seat next to him.

"What are you doing Doctor?" She asked.

"I'm looking out of the window." The Doctor said.

Aderyn lightly punched his shoulder "That's not what I mean. I mean Clara."

"What about her?"

"Letting her go, Doctor."

The Doctor looked at Aderyn, carefully trying not to give away his surprise at Aderyn's annoyance.

"It was her choice." He said quietly.

"You can't let it happen Doctor. Did you at least try to change her mind?" Aderyn sighed.

"She's stubborn." The Doctor said.

"Yes she is. She just needs persuading." Aderyn said quietly.

The Doctor looked at Aderyn, frowning, "I thought you didn't like her."

"I don't have to." Aderyn said defensively. "Like I said before, she's good for you."

The Doctor considered Aderyn for a moment "You still haven't told me what you're investigating or what happened here."

Aderyn scratched the back of her head. The Doctor had noticed, the first time she regenerated, she had acquired several traits he used to have. The way she scratched the back of her head while she was thinking. The way she never told someone she was sorry, she was always so sorry. The way her face changed so completely when she was angry. The defined jaw line and cheek bones. The way she insisted on saying allons-y whenever she deemed it an appropriate time. When she had regenerated again, he had almost expected her change again, to resemble his previous regeneration more. But no. She still scratched the back of her head when she was thinking, she was still so sorry, her face changed so completely when she was angry and she still said allons-y. But this time, it was more like he was looking into a mirror. The way she arched her eyebrows at him, the way her long, thin face looked when she was sad.

Aderyn drummed her fingers against the table, trying to decide whether she really should tell him. She knew that he would want to be part of whatever she was doing. If this really was his last outing with Clara, then he should be trying to convince Clara that she was making a terrible mistake by giving it all up. But she knew that, although she had said she could handle this, she may need his help.

"Not that long ago, Mrs Pitt died. She was over a hundred. That woman, the one who called you a liar, is her daughter." Aderyn said.

"Old ladies die all the time. It's practically their job description." Clara said.

Aderyn and the Doctor looked round at her. She was still wearing her dress and looked annoyed.

"Then it's nothing and you can go back to enjoying your last hurrah." Aderyn said.

"What's so special about an old lady dying?" Clara asked.

"Nothing." Aderyn replied quickly.

"No. It's something otherwise you wouldn't be here." Clara said.

"Clara, you actually sound as if you want this to be a thing. Do you?" The Doctor asked with a raised eyebrow.

Clara sighed "No. No, look, fine. You know, if you think that there is nothing to worry about, then that is fine by me."

"I'm going to get a drink." Aderyn said suddenly, standing up and quickly walking away from them.

"What's wrong with her?" Clara asked.

"I never know what's wrong with her."

Less than a minute later, a waiter stopped politely by the table. "The lady at the bar said to send these over to you." He said. He put two Champaign filled glasses on the table. They looked over at the small bar. Aderyn was watching them. She raised her own glass at them before turning and talking to the man next to her.

The Doctor and Clara each picked up a glass.

"To our last hurrah." The Doctor said.

Clara put her glass on the table, looking sadly at it "Our last, yeah. I mean, it's not like I'm never going to see you again."

The Doctor had been about to take a sip of his drink, but he lowered the glass "Isn't it?"

"Is it?"

The Doctor shrugged "I thought that's what you wanted."

"No, what I mean, you're going to come round for dinner or something, aren't you? Do you do that? Do you come round to people's houses for dinner?"

"Of course." The Doctor lied quickly "Why wouldn't I do that?"

"I don't know. I thought you might find it boring."

"Is it boring?"

"No." Clara smiled.

The Doctor smiled back at her and raised his glass again "To the last hurrah."

"The last hurrah." Clara echoed. 

Quell showed the Doctor where his room was. He was between Aderyn and Clara. Aderyn had followed not long after. When she had opened the door to her room, she was frowning and deep in thought. When the Doctor had said goodnight to her, she only grunted in response.

Aderyn needed to talk to someone. There was too many thoughts going through her head and she needed to get some of them out. She was just considering speaking to the Doctor when there was a knock at the door.

"Yes?"

The door was slid open and the Doctor stepped into the room.

"So what is so special about an old lady dying?" He asked her.

Aderyn sighed "Before she died, she kept saying something about a mummy, right in front of her. But no one else could see it. Then she just died. Her heart stopped and that was it. She was in good health. Her heart just stopped."

"You know what it sounds like." The Doctor said.

"A mummy only the victim can see?" Aderyn guessed.

"I was being rhetorical."

"I know exactly what it sounds like." Aderyn said. She stood suddenly and rushed from the room. The Doctor followed her out but didn't follow the route she had taken. He hesitated outside Clara's room, raising his hand to knock on the door before thinking better of it and walking down the corridor. 

Clara was unaware of the Doctor's pause outside of her door. She lead on the small bed, her phone held to her ear. She hadn't known what else to do when she had decided to settle for the night. She was too wide awake to fall asleep. So she had phoned Danny. She couldn't stop the feeling that she was making a mistake, that she shouldn't really leave the Doctor. But Danny had reassured her that she was doing the right thing. When she finished talking to Danny, she still felt like something was amiss. So she didn't know what was so interesting about an old lady dying, she certainly wanted to find out. She had wanted it to be a thing. She didn't really like the idea that her last outing with the Doctor would be a quiet, uneventful one. That wasn't how things were meant to be with the Doctor.

She sighed, pulled on a dressing gown and left her room. Aderyn being here, telling them she was investigating, had piqued her curiosity. She knocked gently on the Doctor's door.

"Doctor? Are you awake?" When there was no answer, she knocked louder. But still no response. She toyed with the idea of seeing if Aderyn was still awake but decided against it. She was here to spend time with the Doctor, not Aderyn. She went back into her room and changed quickly.


	3. The Doctor Nosey Parker

The Doctor didn't go looking for Aderyn. He knew he had to at least let Aderyn think that she was investigating by herself. Though to the Doctor, it looked like she had reached the conclusion it had taken him mere seconds to get to. But she was still on her first solo investigation. He knew this was a big thing for her. To be investigating outside of London, on Madame Vastra's request. Though he would never let on to Aderyn that he knew that Vastra had sent her out to this. He had kept in close contact with Vastra in regards to Aderyn since he had dropped her off in Victorian London after they had defeated the Skovox Blitzer. Vastra had warned him that there was something pretty serious that Aderyn was investigating, outside of London and by herself. But it was down to her to do the work.

Not one to resist getting involved, the Doctor decided to make a few enquires as to whether he had just lead Aderyn down the right path. And by enquires, he was going to go snooping around. He justified that it was the right thing to do. He had to make sure Aderyn would be ok with this. He had to make sure that he knew what was going on in the slim chance that she would get something wrong. Not that he believed she would get anything wrong. She was clever and very good at thinking on her feet.

He found his way to, what looked like, the engineering carriage. There he spotted a chair covered in plastic. He had recognised the chair as one that, essentially, kept the occupant alive. He knelt next to it and scanned it with the sonic screwdriver. He looked down at the readings and frowned at it.

"Beautiful bit of kit, isn't it, sir? The Excelsior Life Extender. It's like driving around in a portable hospital."

The Doctor looked around at the shabby man that had stepped out from behind a large piece of equipment.

"Yes, well, it didn't do Mrs Pitt much good, did it?" The Doctor said, standing.

"Well, you got me there. sir." The man said, smiling at the Doctor. "Maybe it malfunctioned."

The Doctor held up his screwdriver "No. The records show that the machine did everything it could to keep her alive."

"Yeah, and almost drained the battery doing it."

"What do you know?"

The man crossed his arms across his chest "Well, I know that when I find a man fiddling with a chair that someone died in, it's best to play my cards close to my chest."

The Doctor mimicked him " Really? Well, I know that when I find a man loitering near a chair that someone died in, I do just the same."

The man smiled again and held out his hand towards the Doctor "Perkins. Chief Engineer."

The Doctor shook his hand "The Doctor. Nosey Parker."

"Pleased to meet you Doctor. There is a rumour that someone or something else might be responsible." Perkins said.


	4. They That Bear the Foretold's Stare

Clara left her room again. As much as she hated to admit it, and would never say it aloud, she wanted to join Aderyn's investigation. She didn't want a relaxing trip with the Doctor. Aderyn had been right, this wasn't somewhere the Doctor would go. And maybe if they helped Aderyn, then they would be able to spend a day or two just enjoying their time on this train.

She knocked on the Doctor's door again, and again there was no answer. She pushed the door open and found his room empty. Annoyed, she banged loudly on Aderyn's door. When there was no answer there either, she opened the door. Aderyn was gone too. She knew they would both be poking around.

She slammed the sliding door closed and was just contemplating whether to try and find them, when a young woman walked passed her. It was the woman that had called the Doctor a liar. She looked terrified and was carrying a shoe as though it were a weapon. Clara caught up with her quickly.

"Miss Pitt, wasn't it? Are you all right? Do you need some help?" She asked kindly.

"My name's Maisie. I'm not mad." Miss Pitt said quickly.

"I didn't say you were." Clara said "But you've had a bad day. I think anybody could do with a little bit of help after a day like today."

Maisie stopped walking in front of a heavy looking door. She looked at the panel next to it "Computer, open the door."

"Call me Gus." The computer said cheerfully "I'm afraid this door can only be opened by executive order."

Maisie frantically pressed buttons on the panel, willing the door to open.

"Are you okay?" Clara asked uncertainly.

"They won't let me see her body. They should let me see her body shouldn't they?"

"I should think so. It's in there, is it?" Clara said. She gently took hold of Maisie's arm and tried to pull her away from the door "Okay, I have two friends who are incredibly good with locks. One of them will be able to get you in there. Shall we see if we can find them?"

Maisie shrugged off Clara's attempts to pull her away and slammed the heel of the shoe into the panel. The computer panel fizzed and sparked, then the door opened.

"Or you could do that because that works, too." Clara sighed. She followed Maisie into the room and the door slid closed behind them. 

The Doctor found Aderyn exactly where he thought she would be. She was in the lounge, sipping a hot drink and quietly talking to herself while scribbling something down.

"So," he said, sitting opposite her "What do you think?"

"It's a mummy that only the victim can see." Aderyn muttered.

"Yes?"

"There's only one thing I can think of."

The Doctor smiled "Oh?"

"Come on." Aderyn stood suddenly and marched over to a man that had just opened a book.

"What's the most interesting thing about the Foretold?" She asked.

The man looked shocked and stumbled over his words "I'm terribly sorry, I don't believe we've met."

"You know. The Foretold. Mythical mummy. Legend has it that if you see it, you're a dead man." Aderyn said.

"Yes, I know what it is. You see, I happen to be..."

"Emil Moorehouse, professor of alien mythology. I'm Aderyn Tyler and this is the Doctor. Pleased to meet you. So, the most interesting thing about the Foretold. Go."

"Well," Moorehouse said, clearly blustered "It would have to be the time limit given before it kills you. I can't think of another myth where it's so specific. How does it go?"

"The number of evil twice over. They that bear the Foretold's stare have sixty six seconds to live." The Doctor said.

"Nice try." Aderyn said, ignoring the Doctor's interruption "Very atmospheric. But that's not it. Try again."

"A cynical man might say that you were trying to pump me for information." Moorehouse bristled.

Aderyn smiled sweetly "No, not at all. Merely making sure I'm right. The myth of the Foretold first appeared over five thousand years ago. In some stories, there is a riddle or secret word that is supposed to make it stop. Some characters try to bargain with it, offer riches, confess sins. All to no avail." Aderyn took a silver cigarette case from her pocket and opened it. She extended it towards Moorehouse who frowned at the multi coloured jelly babies within it. He took one. She offered the case over her shoulder at the Doctor. He didn't take one. Instead he took the whole case from Aderyn.

"You certainly seem to know a lot about mythology." Moorehouse said, frowning at her.

"I know a lot." Aderyn said, still smiling.

"From time to time it turns out to be true." The Doctor said. He quickly took a few more jelly babies before Aderyn snapped the case closed on his fingers.

Moorehouse, tired of looking up at Aderyn and the Doctor, indicated the seats opposite him. They sat.

"But that's the great appeal, isn't it?" Moorehouse said "Earth legends are such dry, dusty affairs, and always fiction. But up here, in the stars, anything's possible. That's why I chose this field, to be honest. Hoping one day I might meet a real monster."

"Isn't that everyone's dream? But you still haven't answered my riddle. What's the most interesting thing about the Foretold?" Aderyn said.

"Well, you can't run from it, that's for sure. There are accounts of people trying, but it never works. No matter how far you run, it's always right there behind you."

"Nope. Even colder." Aderyn sat back in the chair.

"I give up." Moorehouse sighed "You tell me."

Aderyn pulled her battered cigarette packet from her pocket and fumbled with her lighter. Moorehouse lent across to her and lit he cigarette for her.

"Mrs Pitt. The old woman who died." Aderyn said when Moorehouse settled back in his chair.

"She died of old age. Nothing supernatural." Moorehouse said. He looked at the Doctor who shrugged.

"No, that's my answer."

"Her death?"

Aderyn blew a smoke ring and watched it expand and disappear near the ceiling. "No. The fact you were here to see it." 

Clara pulled apart the wires and tried desperately to put them back together into a working computer panel.

"Do you know what you're doing?" Maisie asked her.

"Nope." Clara said "But I do need to be slightly more skilled than a high-heeled shoe."

Maisie nodded, not having really listened to Clara's answer. "Do you ever wish bad things on people?"

Seeing no use in lying Clara nodded "All the time. Whoever designed this lock for a start."

Again, Maisie seemed to pay no attention to Clara's reply. And Clara got the impression that Maisie would have still asked the question if Clara hadn't have been there.

"She wasn't really my mum." She said suddenly "She just made me call her that. She was my gran. Do you know why I wanted to see her body?"

"Because you loved her very much and were missing her?" Clara guessed.

Maisie chuckled "No. You obviously never met her. No, I just felt really guilty. Like I'd been picturing her dying for years. Like a daydream. Not really meaning it. At least, I don't think I did. But now, it just feels like I made this happen."

Clara looked round at Maisie. But Maisie wasn't looking at her. She was looking at a large sarcophagus that stood at the far end of the room.

"You didn't do anything wrong. Difficult people, they can make you feel all sorts of things. But you didn't do it. You didn't kill her. She just died." Clara said.

"Are you sure?"

"If people died because you imagined them dying then I would be in a far worse position then I am now." Clara said soothingly.


	5. Pretty Much Always Like This

After thanking Moorehouse for his time and input, Aderyn stood suddenly and walked away. The Doctor moved quickly to catch up with her. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"To find the Captain." Aderyn replied curtly. When she saw him in the corridor ahead of them, she sped up, putting one hand in her pocket as she walked. She stopped walking in front of him.

"We need to talk." she said.

There was a commotion of some description going on in the kitchen behind Quell. As a waiter pushed open the door they could see a man lead on the floor.

"This matter does not concern passengers." Quell said, all the charm and politeness he had last time he had spoken to Aderyn had vanished.

"I'm not just any passenger." Aderyn said. She took her hand from her pocket, showing a small card to Quell. The Doctor had expected her to take her psychic paper out of her pocket. But no. Aderyn had been far more sensible than that. She had shown Quell her UNIT identity card. "My name is Aderyn Tyler and I work for UNIT. I am here to investigate something that is putting your staff and passengers in danger. I believe it is getting to a point now where you really should start listening."

Quell looked at the card in Aderyn's hand. "You really think you're the first person to shout about a fancy job and expect exceptions to the rules. I'm sorry Miss Tyler, but this does not concern you." Quell marched passed her and the Doctor.

"UNIT sent you to investigate?" The Doctor frowned.

"Of course not." Aderyn smirked "But the name of the Great Detective doesn't carry much weight this far outside of Victorian London."

Aderyn then hurried after Quell "How many more people need to die before you start paying attention?" She shouted at him. 

Clara sat on a box, her legs crossed and back against the wall. When they had realised they were not getting out of this room any time soon, they had thought it best to get to know one another. Clara had bee surprised by how easily she had been able to talk to this complete stranger about the Doctor and Aderyn.

Still confused, despite Clara's explanations, Maisie frowned "So this Doctor is your what exactly?"

Clara shrugged "He's not my anything."

"But this girl is his daughter? And you don't like her?"

"It's not that I don't like her." Clara said quickly "I have a degree of respect for her. But it's more she doesn't like me. No idea why."

"So this Doctor fellow, he's just your friend."

Clara nodded then shrugged "Yeah, Of course we're just friends. Oh. Well, not even friends, not any more."

Maisie chuckled "That's clearly not true."

"It is true."

Maisie raised her eyebrow at Clara "You do seem to be here together."

"Look, we knocked about together, we travelled and now we're stopping. This is a, I don't know, goodbye to the good times?" Clara explained.

Maisie sat on the floor next to Clara "We the good times always like this?"

Clara smiled "Yes, pretty much always like this."


	6. My Five Minutes Are Up, Mr Quell

Quell, tired of Aderyn's constant shouting at him to listen, finally gave in. He stopped walking outside his office and opened the door. He turned to look at Aderyn and the Doctor as they caught up with him. "You have five minutes to convince me that you are worth listening to on the matter Miss Tyler."

Aderyn and the Doctor quickly followed Quell as he walked into his office and settled himself behind his desk.

"Miss Tyler, I can assure you that I have followed the correct procedure for accidental death." Quell said.

"I fully believe you have. I would expect nothing less from you Mr Quell. And I'm sure you do just enough of your job to avoid complaints." Aderyn said politely.

The Doctor rested his chin in his hand, letting his longs finger cover his mouth to hide his small smile. He had travelled with Aderyn many times and watched her grow. As she had got older, she had developed her own way of dealing with people. She used to scream and shout. But she had quickly learnt that such an approach rarely worked. She had adopted a tone of voice that most people responded to. But only those that knew her well could clearly see that her over politeness and charm was just a cover for the sarcasm and irritation she was holding back. She had a tone that told the Doctor that someone was going to be in a lot of trouble. She had this tone now.

"You don't know me." Quell snapped.

Aderyn cocked her head to one side "Wounded in battle, honourable discharge. And this is just a guess, but I think you've had the fight knocked out of you. You expected this to be a cushy desk job where you could put your head down until retirement. Well, I'm so sorry. As of today, that dream is over."

"There is no evidence of any attack." Quell snapped.

Aderyn smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile, but it wasn't unpleasant either. It was a smile it would be sensible to agree with. "Yes, let's just sit around and wait for the evidence while the bodies pile up. Or here's a crazy thought. We could do something to stop it." She stood, her six foot tall frame looming over the Captain "My five minutes are up Mr Quell." And she left without another word.

"Is she always like this?" Quell asked the Doctor.

The Doctor stood and smiled at Quell "Yes, pretty much always like this."

When the Doctor left the Captain's office, Perkins was waiting outside. "She didn't look to happy." He commented.

The Doctor shrugged "She rarely is these days."

Perkins held up rolls of paper "Passenger manifest, plan of the train and a list of stops for the past six months."

"Quick work." The Doctor said with a raised eyebrow "Some may say too quick."

"Yes, sir. I'm obviously the mummy." Perkins said seriously. When the Doctor grinned at him he handed the papers to the Doctor "Or perhaps I was a looking into it already."

"Aderyn is meant to be looking into this herself. As far as she is aware, I have not been doing anything about this."

Perkins nodded in understanding as the Doctor skimmed through the papers.

"I'll keep it to hand, sir, in case she asks."

"Good man. Now, which way did she go?" 

After some explanation about what happened on the moon, Maisie nodded understandingly.

"Oh, he was wrong." She agreed "and high-handed and, thoughtless and arrogant beyond belief."

"Exactly." Clara said.

"And you got on a train with him?"

"I was saying goodbye." Clara said quietly "You can't end it on a slammed door."

"You can." Maisie said "Yes, you can. Anyone can do it. People do it all the time. Except, of course, when they can't." She sighed "Life would be so much simpler if you liked the right people. People you're supposed to like. But then, I guess there'd be no fairy tales."

Clara's phone rang loudly in the quiet room "Doctor?" She asked, answering the phone.

"There's been another mummy murder." The Doctor said, a little too happily.

"Doctor, I'm..."

"Our last hurrah just got a little more interesting."

"Doctor, I'm trapped!" Clara shouted down the phone.

"Where are you?" 

Aderyn was back in the lounge. She had taken her notebook from her pocket again and was looking through the many things she had written during her investigation so far.

"Aderyn, Clara is in a wee bit of trouble." The Doctor said.

"When isn't she?" Aderyn asked without looking up.

"Come on." The Doctor grabbed her jacket and pulled her backwards off the bar stool.

The computer panel that lead to the small room was, well and truly, unusable. The Doctor banged on the door.

"Clara?"

"Doctor, can you hear me?" Clara shouted back through the door.

"Are you okay in there?" Aderyn asked.

"We're trapped in a room with a sarcophagus, how do you think we're doing?"

"I only asked." Aderyn muttered.

"Computer, can you open the door please?" The Doctor asked.

"Call me Gus." The Computer said cheerfully "I'm afraid this door can only be opened by executive order."

"Oh, forget it." Aderyn said.

She held up her sonic screwdriver and it lit up a brilliant green. The light flickered and the hum stuttered before the screwdriver switched itself off. The Doctor did the same, but to no avail. His sonic flickered and fizzled out.

"I don't want to cause any alarm but the sonic screwdrivers aren't working?" The Doctor called through the door.

"What?" Clara stuttered back "Both of them?"

"Suppression field, I would guess." The Doctor said "What are you doing in there anyway?"

But Clara didn't respond.

"Clara?" Aderyn shouted, thumping her fist against the door.

"It's opening." Clara said.

"What is?" The Doctor asked.

"The sarcophagus."

The lights on the front of the sarcophagus had changed from red to green and air hissed around it as it began to open.

The lights in the corridor began to flicker.

"It's coming." The Doctor said.

He and Aderyn both fought over the door lock, pushing each other out of the way in order to try a new method of getting the door open. But nothing they did had any affect and no matter how much Aderyn shouted at Gus to open the door, the door remained closed.

"Doctor, it's okay." Clara shouted eventually. She looked at the now open sarcophagus and breathed a sigh of relief "It's just full of bubble wrap."

"We'll be back for you." the Doctor called through the door before he turned and chased after Aderyn, who had suddenly started running down the corridor.

"Where are you going now?" He shouter after her.

"It's onboard somewhere." she shouted over her shoulder, before running head long into Quell and two guards.

He glared at Aderyn and the Doctor. "I spoke to your superiors at UNIT, Miss Tyler. They did not send you to investigate anything." The two guards stepped forward and handcuffed both the Doctor and Aderyn "You have some explaining to do."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Aderyn hissed.

Somewhere behind Quell, shots were fired.


	7. Someone Start Counting

The guards pushed Aderyn and the Doctor along the corridor as they followed Quell. The shots had been let off by a guard in the lounge. He was shouting and begging for someone to get away from him. But no one could see what he was looking and waving his gun at.

"What are you doing man?" Quell demanded. But the poor guard was too panicked to answer. A bullet broke a glass on a nearby table, and the guard dropped to the floor where he lay motionless.

White faced, Quell turned to Aderyn.

"You asked me how many more people had to die before I started listening. The answer is one." He nodded at the guards, who undid the handcuffs.

Aderyn rubbed her wrists then seized a glass from a table. She took a pen from her pocket and tapped it gently against the glass. The passengers and guards in the lounge fell silent and looked at her. "Ladies and gentlemen, could I have a moment of your time, please? There's a monster on this train that can only be seen by those about to die. If you do see it, you will have exactly sixty six seconds left in which to live. But that isn't even the strangest thing. Do you know what is?" blank and confused faces looked back at her "You. The passengers. Experts in alien biology, mythology, physics. If I was putting together a team to analyse this thing, I'd pick you. And I think somebody has. Someone of immense power and influence has orchestrated this whole trip. Someone who I have no doubt is listening to us right now. So, are you going to step out from behind the curtain and give us our orders?"

Perkins appeared suddenly and silently behind the Doctor "The engines have stopped." He said. Aderyn looked at him suspiciously.

The 1920s interior dropped away in a buzz of electronic whirrs. What was left behind was a sterile, high tech look.

"And the facade drops away." The Doctor muttered "Because what use are a bunch of scientists without a lab?"

"Good morning, everyone." Gus said "Around the room you will find a variety of scientific equipment. Your goal is to ascertain the Foretold's true nature, probe for weaknesses with a view to capture, after which we will reverse engineer its abilities. Isn't this exciting?"

The Doctor frowned " You said capture, implying that you can't control this thing. And yet somehow you got it on board. How?"

"There is an artefact, an ancient scroll. I have highlighted it for your convenience." At the end of the carriage, a small panel slide away and spotlights glowed harshly, illuminating an item on the wall. From her position at the other end of the carriage, Aderyn couldn't quite make out what it was. She walked slowly towards it, stopping several feet from it. "For reasons currently unknown, the Foretold appears in the vicinity of this artefact." Gus informed them.

Looking at the scroll on the wall, Aderyn suppressed a shiver. There was something about this scroll that she didn't like, something that just didn't feel right. She was curious about it, she wanted to get close to it, study it, try and decipher whatever it was that was written on it. But at the same time it filled her with a cold dread.

"Well then maybe we should just throw this thing out in the airlock." Quell said definitely. He strode forward and reached for the scroll. The Doctor and Aderyn both lunged for him at the same time.

"No!" The Doctor shouted. But it was too late. Quell's fingers hadn't even touched the surface of the scroll when there was a fizz and he drew his hand back quickly.

"Looks like they thought of that." Perkins muttered.

"What if we just refuse?" Aderyn said suddenly.

"That is your choice of course." Gus said happily "But it would be such a shame if you were all to die at the hands of the Foretold."

"Well there is that." She agreed.

"But even if they agree to this, how are they supposed to study a creature that they can't even see? We don't even know what the species is." The Doctor asked.

"Oh, not including yourself in all of this is see." Aderyn snapped.

"This is your investigation, not mine." The Doctor said calmly.

Aderyn didn't respond to the Doctor as the lights began to flicker. "Someone start counting." She said quickly. The gathered professors and doctors looked around the room, each looking for where the Foretold might be or who could be seeing it.

"It's approximately one point eight metres tall. Actually, seeing it in the flesh isn't nearly as rewarding as I thought it might be." Moorehouse said. He was staring straight down the carriage.

"What can you see? Details." Aderyn said quickly.

"Yes, of course. Well it looks like a man in bandages." Moorehouse stammered. He began to back away from the looming creature.

"What kind of bandages? Old? New?" Aderyn asked.

"Old."

"Whole or ragged?" Every time Moorehouse took a defensive step backward, Aderyn followed.

"Ragged. Falling off in places. I don't know what you want me to tell you."

" Listen to me! You can see this thing. We can't. Tell us what you can see. Even the smallest detail might help save the next one." The Doctor said.

"The next one? You mean you can't save me?"

"Well, that is implied, isn't it? Yes, this is probably the end for you." The Doctor conceded.

"But make it count." Aderyn added, nudging the Doctor.

"Some of the flesh is visible." Moorehouse said "leathery. Ancient looking. Peat bog preserved."

"Thirty seconds." Perkins said. He had a pocket watch in his hand.

"Keep talking. Don't waste this chance." Aderyn said calmly.

"I want to bargain for my life." Moorehouse shouted.

"No!" The Doctor shouted back.

"Well, it says, some of the myths say if you, if you find the right word, if you make the right offer, then it lets you go." Moorehouse said.

"This is not a myth. This is real. Forget your superstitions. Tell us what you can see." The Doctor snapped.

"Ten seconds." Perkins informed them.

"This is my life, my death. I'm going to fight for it how I want. I give you my soul. I confess all sins. I give you all my worldly goods." Moorehouse stammered. A few seconds later, he fell to the floor.

"Zero." Aderyn whispered. She stared down at the lifeless body on the floor.

"We apologise for any distress you may have just experienced. Grief counselling is available on request. On the bright side, I'm sure you've all collected a lot of data. Well done, everyone!" Gus said cheerfully.

Aderyn looked away from Moorehouse and turned back to the scroll. "It's recording every death." She said.

"Of course it is." The Doctor said. He grabbed a handful of white lab coats that had been hanging on a coat stand and began to hand them out to people "That's why we're here. To study our own demise. So let's get to work. Come on. Chop, chop." He offered one to Aderyn but she refused. Instead she took off her jacket and rolled up the sleeves of her jumper.

"Are you ok?" He asked her.

"I don't know. Something about this scroll doesn't feel right." She muttered.

The Doctor's attention was soon drawn away from her when his phone rang.

"Clara Oswald." He said. 

Clara and Maisie sat cross legged on the floor, an array of papers on the floor in front of them. Clara had been determined to do what she could despite her current situation. In the box she had been sat on, she had found several interesting papers.

"Okay. So, first things first. The sarcophagus is actually a secure stasis unit." She said quickly.

"Yes. It's where they want us to put the Foretold if we capture it." The Doctor told her.

Clara dropped the papers she had been holding "Well, that would have been good to know."

"Sorry, teeny bit busy round here. What else?"

Clara shuffled through the papers in front of her "We have some paperwork. Passenger manifests from other ships. Maisie recognised a couple of the names. These are missing ships." 

"Please terminate your call and return to work." Gus said sternly.

"So we're not the first." The Doctor said slowly

Aderyn looked round at him. He looked at her solemnly. She walked over to him and leant close to the phone.

"I've got some progress reports." Clara continued.

But Gus had other ideas "Please terminate your call and return to work." he repeated.

"The Gloriana spent three days getting picked off by the Foretold. All died. Performance marked as poor. The Valiant Heart. Forty two crew, four died. Performance, promising."

"Please terminate your call and return to work." Gus said for a third time. Aderyn waved her hand at one of the computer panels, shushing him.

Quell tapped her politely on the shoulder "You'd better do as he says."

Aderyn looked around at Quell, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking out of the window. Both Aderyn and the Doctor turned to see what had his attention. Outside the window they saw a man in chef's whites and an assortment of catering equipment drift passed.

"I've got to go." The Doctor said quickly into the phone, which was soon put back in his pocket.

"I'm sorry. I know that must have been distressing for you. But if you are disobedient again, I will decompress another area containing less valuable passengers." Gus said, his cheerful demeanour returning.

"Less valuable passengers?" Aderyn mused "How does it choose?"

Perkins shrugged "Well, I'm assuming qualifications."

Aderyn tutted "No, no, no. Not the computer, the Foretold. How does it choose who to kill? We've assumed it's random. What if it's not? I want full histories on all the victims. Medical, social, personal."

"Well done." Gus chimed.

"Don't mention it." Aderyn said darkly "seriously, don't mention it."


	8. I assumed it Would Be Me

Perkins scanned the passenger manifest "Doesn't seem to be any pattern. Their travel history, interests, health. It's all over the shop."

"Health!" Aderyn demanded.

"Health? Are you sure? Mrs Pitt, the first victim. She was over a hundred years old. The frailest passenger on board." The Doctor said.

"Oh but the next to go, the chef, was young and fit. It's random." Perkins said.

Aderyn sucked air in between her teeth and scratched the back of her head "They have to be linked somehow." She muttered.

"The chef was ill." Quell said. Aderyn, the Doctor and Perkins turned to face him. "A rare blood disorder. Not contagious, but we kept it quiet."

"Because he worked with food." The Doctor said "The next one? The guard?"

Perkins looked down at the manifest again "He wasn't ill as such, but he did have synthetic lungs implanted last year. Professor Moorehouse. It seems he was physically fine but suffering from regular panic attacks after a car crash last year."

Aderyn tapped her fingers lightly against her chin "It's picking off the weakest first. Sensing the illness somehow. The fake organs, even psychological issues. But this is good news, because it means we can work out who is next. I want the medical records of everybody alive who is still on board. If anyone's had as much as a cold, I want to know about it."

Quell swallowed "You really think it can sense psychological issues?"

"For my own sake I wish I wasn't so certain about it. Why?" Aderyn sighed.

"Post-traumatic stress. Still can't sleep without pills." Quell confessed.

"If it's any help I'm likely to go first." She muttered.

The lights flicked and Perkins hit the timer on his watch.

"In that you are wrong, Miss Tyler." Quell stared down the carriage.

"What can you see?" Aderyn asked quickly.

Quell frowned "Almost feels out of focus. Gives me a headache just looking at it." He put his hand inside his blazer and pulled his service revolver from it's hidden holster.

"No, no. That didn't work last time remember." Aderyn said quickly.

"What kind of solider would I be if I died with bullets in my gun." Quell snapped. He stretched his hand out, pointing his weapon at the advancing monster, his hand shaking.

"Fifty seconds." Perkins said.

"Somebody shut that man up." Quell shouted "And for the record it didn't even flinch."

"Where is it now?" Aderyn asked.

"About 20 feet in front of me and closing."

Aderyn walked forward and stepped in front of Quell "Am I close?"

Quell stepped back in horror "It's passing right through you, like a ghost."

"It's not a hologram." Perkins said.

"If you move will it follow?" Aderyn asked.

"Do you want me to move? Because I can certainly do that."

"Keep your eyes on it but move as quickly as you can." Aderyn ordered. Quell backed away so quickly he took everyone by surprise. He then looked slowly over his shoulder.

"It teleported. It's behind me." He turned to face it.

"Time?" Aderyn demanded.

"Twenty seconds." Perkins replied quickly.

"I think this is it. Still, suppose it's not a bad way to go. Blood pumping, enemy at the gates and all that. Use what little information I could give you." Quell said. "It's reaching for me. Hands on my head."

Aderyn turned away as Perkins said "Zero."

"Teleport. That means tech. But sixty six seconds? Sixty six seconds to do what? It's too specific for something organic." She muttered.

"A man just died in front of us. Can we not just have a moment?" Perkins said indignantly.

Aderyn turned sharply to look at him "No. No, no, no. We can't do that. We can't mourn. People with guns to their heads, they cannot mourn. We do not have time to mourn. Everybody, what takes sixty six seconds to charge up or to change state? This would be so much easier if I could just see it."

"Don't joke about that." The Doctor said sternly.

Aderyn ran her hands through her hair "I'm not. I'm really not."

Perkins let out a dark chuckle "I can't tell whether you're a genius or just insane."

Aderyn smiled coldly at him "Honestly on a good day I'm both. But that's his fault." She pointed at the Doctor "Ancient tech. This thing has been around for centuries. How? Tech that keeps it alive. Tech that drains energy from the living. I need a scanner."

Perkins handed her a scanner and she finally looked down at Quell's body. Looking at him, there was no obvious signs of what could have killed him. She scanned his body as quickly as she could and turned away again.

"Deep tissue scan." She explained, giving the scanner back to Perkins "He's been leached of almost all energy on a cellular level. The heart attack is just a side effect."

"Oh it's not a mummy. It's a vampire." Perkins said "Metaphorically speaking." He added when Aderyn frowned at him.

"But why take sixty six seconds to drain us? Why not just pounce?" She sighed.

"Phase. Moving energy out of phase. That takes about a minute, doesn't it?" The Doctor said.

"That's why only the victims can see it. It takes them out of phase so it can drain their energy. But we need to find out who's next. I assumed it would be me last time but no. Why wasn't it?" Aderyn mused.

"Can't you just be happy it wasn't you." The Doctor said quietly.

Perkins handed her a sheet of paper "If we take you out of the mix then I think I know who will be next."

Aderyn looked down at it.


	9. We Surrender

Clara jumped when her phone rang. She looked down at the screen, expecting it to be the Doctor. But it was Aderyn's name that flashed on the screen as her phone buzzed and trilled. With a frown, she hit the answer button "Aderyn?"

Aderyn stopped bouncing nervously on the balls of her feet when the phone was finally answered "Clara, I don't have long. I can convince the computer to let you out of that room but you need to bring Maisie to us."

Even with the minimal information she had just been given, Clara knew exactly why Aderyn wanted Maisie there. "You and the Doctor, you can save her right? It won't kill her?"

Aderyn sighed, a long, shaking sigh "Her bad day, her bereavement, her little breakdown puts her squarely in its cross hairs. She's next. I can't guarantee saving her. If it does kill her then it's another chance to observe it in action and gain some research. "

"As it kills her!" Clara hissed into the phone.

"But if it happens in there its too much of a waste. So bring her to us."

Clara closed her eyes and took a steadying breath "She'll never agree."

"Then lie to her. Tell her I can save her. You just need to get her here." Aderyn hung up.

"I'm going to hell for that." Aderyn muttered as she tucked her phone into her pocket again. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked at the scroll on the wall. There was still something about it that just didn't feel right but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"I thought you didn't believe in Heaven or Hell." The Doctor said, standing behind her.

Aderyn turned. She was surprised by the look on the Doctor's face. On his previous regeneration it would have been an expression that could be described as concern, on this face, it looked like an angry, thoughtful expression. "You try spending most of your time with a Silurian and see if you don't believe in something like that."

"I thought I told Madame Vastra not to turn you into a Silurian." The Doctor said with a smile.

Aderyn smiled weakly at him and walked passed him as Clara and Maisie entered the carriage.

As she drew level with him, the Doctor was certain he heard her hiss quietly at him.

Clara stood with her arms crossed, looking at Aderyn. "We passed the TARDIS on the way here. Thought about getting inside, hiding, pulling the levers and hoping for the best. But we couldn't even get in. There was a force field around it."

The Doctor suddenly found something outside of the window very interesting. "It's probably Gus trying to block our escape route."

"But how does he even know what it is? Cos if he knows what it is, then he knows what you are." Clara frowned.

The Doctor shrugged and looked at his feet "Well, he has tried to entice me here before. Free tickets, mysterious summons, he even told me Aderyn would be here."

"Doctor, you came on this trip," Aderyn said slowly "And dragged Clara along with you because you knew I was going to be here?"

"No...yes..well, partly."

Aderyn marched over to him and shoved him roughly "This is why people slap you."

"No, this is why you slap me. And possibly why your grandmother did as well."

Clara let out an indignant laugh "You see, this. This is why I'm leaving you. This. Because you lied. You lied to me, again." She then turned to Aderyn "And now you've made me lie. You've made me your accomplice. You're as bad as he is."

Aderyn turned fiercely to her "Fifteen years of time and space. Years of watching planets fall, stars burn and people die. I've toughened up. You might want to as well."

"What's going on?" Maisie asked nervously. The lights in the carriage flickered. "It's there." she said suddenly, pointing somewhere behind Aderyn.

Aderyn snatched the scanner from Perkins and pointed it at Maisie. There was a flash.

"Shall I start the clock?" Perkins asked nervously.

"Not yet." Aderyn said. "All of that is your grief, your trauma, your resentment. And now," She pointed the scanner at her own face and there was a flash, "It's mine."

"It's gone." Maisie said.

"No it isn't." Aderyn said calmly "I can see it. Now it think's I'm you. Start the clock."

"Why did you do that?" The Doctor demanded.

"No time to explain." she moved away form the Doctor, making sure she had a clear path with the scroll behind her. "Hello, I'm Aderyn. I'll be your victim this evening. Are you my mummy? But you can't hurt me until my time is up. I think. So are there magic words? Is there a way to stop you in your tracks?" She then frowned at Maisie" Oh, you really didn't like your gran, did you?" She turned back to the Foretold "There's something visible under the bandages." With an apologetic smile she looked back at Maisie "By the way, you weren't being paranoid. She really did poison your pony."

"Oh." Maisie said sadly.

"Markings like the ones on the scroll." Aderyn continued. Not taking her eyes off the mummy this time, she waved her hand at Maisie "and your father, sorry."

Clara put a comforting hand on Maisie shoulder. "Is she mad?" Maisie asked.

"Probably." Clara said.

"A tattered piece of cloth attached to a length of wood that you will kill for." Aderyn muttered.

"Thirty seconds." The Doctor told her.

"That doesn't sound like a scroll. That sounds like a flag! And if that sounds like a flag, if this is a flag, that means that you are a soldier, wounded in a forgotten war thousands of years ago. But they've worked on you, haven't they, son? They've filled you full of kit. State of the art phase camouflage, personal teleporter."

"Ten seconds."

Aderyn took a deep breath and spoke so quickly it was near impossible to hear everything she was saying "And all that tech inside you, it just won't let you die, will it? It won't let the war end. It just won't let you stop until the war is over. We surrender."

"Zero."

The lights stopped flickering and stayed on.

Maisie gasped "I can see it."

"I think we all can." Clara said.

"Do I start the clock?" Perkins asked nervously, not really wanting to take his eyes off the mummy.

"No." The Doctor said. He had never really noticed how tall Aderyn was until he saw her stood in front of a mummy that was barely taller than himself.

The Foretold saluted at Aderyn.

Aderyn saluted back at it "The clock has stopped. You're relieved solider."

"He's not the only one." Perkins muttered.

As the Foretold disintegrated in front of them, the Doctor breathed a sigh of relief "You have no idea how glad I am that worked."

"Trust me I do." Aderyn said. She stooped down and picked up what was left of the mummy. It was a small blue device that had several wires protruding from it. She turned it over and over in her hands.

"We were fighting that?" Clara asked.

"So was he." Aderyn said "We're not out of the woods yet. Well, Gus, I think we solved your little puzzle. Ancient soldier being driven by malfunctioning tech."

There was a cheery beeping as Gus spoke to them "Thank you so much for your efforts. They are greatly appreciated. Unfortunately, survivors of this exercise are not required."

"Because no one was expecting that." Aderyn said. The Doctor took the tech from Aderyn's hand and put it on a table. He took his screwdriver from his pocket and went to work.

"Air will now be removed from the entire train. We hope you have enjoyed your journey on the Orient Express." Gus said.

The change in the air was instantaneous. There was not enough oxygen for the few breaths they all tried to take. And it wasn't long before the oxygen deprivation started to set in. Maisie and Perkins were the first to collapse. And soon, the only ones left standing were Aderyn and the Doctor.

"I take it you know away out of this." Aderyn said, watching the Doctor work.

"My enemy's enemy is my friend. Especially when he has a built in teleporter." The Doctor said.

"Then use it."

The Orient Express exploded.


	10. That Job Could Change a Man

When Clara awoke, she was not comfortable. There was something soft beneath her, but beneath that, whatever she was lead on was rough and shifted when she moved. She opened her eyes. She was on a pebble beach. Someone had laid a blanket beneath her. She could see Aderyn and the Doctor. They were stood not far from her. And Aderyn was angry. She was making an effort to keep her voice down, but Clara could tell she was struggling with that.

"You knew all of that, you knew what it would take to stop the Foretold and you didn't do anything." Aderyn said.

"You said you wanted to solve this by yourself." The Doctor reasoned.

"People have died. Many more could have if I'd have been wrong."

"You wouldn't have." The Doctor said quietly.

Aderyn thumped his shoulder "But other people would have. That girl, Maisie. If I was wrong it would have been my fault."

"You knew you were right."

"No. I thought I was right. There's a big difference. I could have been wrong. Now you're going to take the moral high ground and say I had a lesson to learn."

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets and gave Aderyn a stern look "You have to learn some how. There's only so many things that Vastra and Jenny can teach you. Yes they can teach you how to use a sword or throw a punch or creep around or pick locks. But they can't teach you how to think quickly, how to use your genius."

Aderyn picked up a handful of small stones "How to be you, you mean."

"That's not what I meant." He said quickly.

"I lied to people, Doctor. And worse. I got someone else to lie for me. And it could have all gone wrong." Aderyn threw one of the stones and it landed in the water with a loud _plop_.

"I wouldn't have let that happen. When Gus told me you were on board I spoke to Madame Vastra and she told me that you were investigating. When she told me what it was I knew that I had to make sure you were able to handle it. Not that I thought you couldn't but it was your first big solo mission."

Aderyn stepped closer to the water and skimmed a stone expertly across the surface "I should have known she would have had something to do with this."

The Doctor picked up a pebble. Soon the one he was holding followed Aderyn's, bouncing several times before getting caught in an incoming wave and disappearing below the water. "You know, sometimes you remind me so much of your mother. I remember when she got so angry with me for wanting to let an alien race take over the bodies of the dead. I saw no harm in it. She did. And quite rightly, it turned out. You remind me so much of her. Stand on your own two feet, fight for what you believe in."

Aderyn smiled at him "Why can't I stay mad at you?"

"Because I'm right." The Doctor smiled. He looked around at Clara and gently nudged Aderyn. "Oh hello, again. Sleep well?"

"Weren't we just on a train?" Clara asked. She sat up and rubbed her head.

"Oh, that was ages ago." The Doctor said.

"And?"

Aderyn threw another pebble into the water "And what?"

"We got off the train." The Doctor said "The teleport worked eventually. Beamed everyone into the TARDIS. No casualties, just a bevy of sleeping beauties. I tried hacking into Gus from the TARDIS, find out who set this all up. He really didn't like that. Set off some fail safe thing. Blew up the train."

"Blew up the train?" Clara gasped.

"Blew up the train but we got away. Then I dropped everyone off at the nearest civilised planet, which happened to be here. You seemed happy asleep so I just left you." The Doctor said.

"So you saved everyone?"

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets and looked seriously at her "No. I just saved you and Aderyn then I left everyone else suffocate." When Clara looked shocked he smiled at her.

Clara stood and brushed dust from her top "You made me lie to Maisie." She said.

Aderyn looked round and stuffed her hands into her pockets "Sorry. It was the easiest thing to do. I couldn't risk Gus finding out."

"So you were just pretending to be heartless?" Clara said quietly.

"Would you like to think that about me? Would that make it easier? I didn't know if I could save her. I couldn't save Quell, I couldn't save Moorhouse. There was a good chance that she'd die too. At which point, I would have just moved onto the next, and the next, until I beat it. Sometimes the only choices you have are bad ones. But you still have to choose. Sometimes being heartless is the easiest choice for me. There's a reason I don't like getting attached to people." Aderyn said. "Sometimes you have to be the bad guy to be the good guy in the end."

Clara picked up the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders "You're ok sometimes, you know?"

Aderyn smiled "I have my moments."

The Doctor put a hand on Aderyn's shoulder "Come on you two. I need a cup of tea."

Clara paid little attention to the conversation in the TARDIS kitchen. She paced outside the door, looking through it every time she passed it at the Doctor, Aderyn and Perkins. The Doctor have left Perkins in the TARDIS while he and Aderyn had been on the beach with Clara. The Doctor seemed to like him, and Aderyn did too.

"It's quite a vehicle you have here Doctor." Perkins said over his tea "I won't pretend to understand half of it. Having said that, I did notice you've got a couple of drive stacks need replacing."

"Oh, you did, did you?" Aderyn smiled.

"Yeah. You should get someone in." Perkins said.

Aderyn raised an eyebrow at the Doctor "A job like that takes forever."

"Whoever I did get in, it might just be easier to have them stay on board for a while. I don't suppose you'd know of anyone Perkins?"

Perkins finished his tea and put his mug on the table "No. Sorry Doctor but I don't think I do. That job could change a man."

"Yes it does." The Doctor admitted.

"Frequently." Aderyn muttered.

Perkins didn't stay much longer after that. He tipped his hat at Clara as he left, not wanting to say anything and disturb her phone call. It was not long after Perkins' departure that she finally finished her phone call. With a smile that was just a bit too bright, she found Aderyn and the Doctor in the console room.

"Was that Danny?" Aderyn asked.

Clara nodded.

The Doctor rolled his eyes "What did he want?"

"He's fine with it." Clara said casually.

"Fine with what?" Aderyn frowned.

"Danny is fine with the idea of me knocking around with you two. It was his idea that I don't. But he's decided that he doesn't mind and neither do I. To hell with the last hurrah. Let's keep going."

"That's a big change of heart." Aderyn said.

"Yeah, they happen." Clara said.

"Seriously?" The Doctor asked.

"Look, as long as you get me home safe and on time, everything is great. I am so sorry. I've had a wobble. It's a big wobble, but it's fine. Forget about it. Now, shut up and give me some planets." Clara said firmly.

"You know there's a planet made entirely of shrubs? And another one that has a waterfall made of sapphires." Aderyn said.

"We are not going to Midnight." The Doctor said quickly.

"Planet of the shrubs it is then." Clara said.

"Are you sure?" The Doctor asked.

"Are you? Have you ever been sure?" Clara asked. She looked from the Doctor to Aderyn and back again. They both shook their heads. "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go!"


	11. She's Still Going to be Around

The planet made entirely of shrubs was beautiful. Aderyn hadn't been able to enjoy it as much as she would have liked. Her hay fever left her eyes streaming and her nose running. She tried her best to enjoy it but she had to call it a day when her sneezing upset a wasps nest and they had to make a run back to the TARDIS. But Clara had been in good spirits when they had taken her home.

When they left Clara's there was a relaxed atmosphere in the TARDIS.

"So," The Doctor said eventually "now to get you home. Did you want a lift or have you got your vortex manipulator in one of your pockets?"

"I've got it," Aderyn said quickly "But I was wondering whether I could hang around here for a bit? Not for too long and I won't get in your way, I promise."

The Doctor smiled at her "You can stay for as long as you want. On one condition."

Aderyn raised an eyebrow at him "That being?"

"Try not to argue with Clara so much. I'm not saying you have to be nice, just don't start an argument. Because, whether you like it or not, she's still going to be around."

Aderyn smiled and held out her hand. "That's a deal. I won't start arguments with Clara and you get to put up with me."

The Doctor smiled as he shook her hand "Deal."

Although Aderyn had accepted that Clara would be around, the Doctor made sure that he and Aderyn had a few adventures what were just the two of them. But soon enough, they couldn't evade Wednesday forever. The Doctor kept his adventures with Clara as simple and carefree as possible. And Aderyn was true to her word. She didn't start an argument with Clara and only made bitter comments toward her a few times.


	12. There Goes my Plan of a Sudden Exit

Clara pottered around and scooped up some of the bits she'd left in the console room, tucking them under her arm or stuffing them in a bag.

Aderyn raised an eyebrow at her "You can leave some of that stuff here, you know. There is literally acres of room."

"Oh, I know." Clara said quickly "It's all right. Danny's got a little bit territorial. The idea of me leaving so much as a toothbrush here. But, still, he's all right with us doing this which I admit's a little bit weird, cos you'd think if he had a problem with me leaving stuff in the TARDIS, he'd object to me travelling in the TARDIS. But he's not."

"That makes no sense." Aderyn said quietly.

The Doctor looked up from the TARDIS console "Sorry. Stopped listening a while ago." He pressed a few buttons on the console and sighed "Same time you left. Same place...ish." the Doctor said to Clara.

"Ish? Don't give me an ish." Clara said.

"The controls are a bit ishy." The Doctor said.

"Um...Doctor?" Aderyn said curiously.

"What?" The Doctor looked round at her and saw that her attention was fixed on the door. Clara and the Doctor looked at the door. The Doctor raised an eyebrow and Clara's mouth fell open. The TARDIS door, usually big enough to allow anyone to pass through it, was no taller than about a meter.

The Doctor slowly approached the door and pulled it open. he was able to stick his head and shoulder out of the door without having to bend down too much. He looked around before stooping and squeezing his tall frame through the doorway. Clara and Aderyn followed him. Clara exited the TARDIS without much issue. But Aderyn cracked her shoulder against the door frame. She swore under her breath as she finally eased herself through the door.

"Doctor, this is nowhere near the same place." Aderyn said as she looked around the rail yard.

"I said ish." The Doctor said as he paced around the TARDIS. "I wonder what caused this." He said. The TARDIS was small. Aderyn stood next to it, easily able to lean against the TARDIS, resting her elbow on the roof, barely raising her arm above her shoulder to do so.

"Doctor, we're in Bristol." Clara snapped.

"And a hundred and twenty miles from where we should be. Impressive." The Doctor said, scanning the TARDIS with his sonic screwdriver.

"No, not impressive. Annoying." Clara shouted.

The Doctor looked up at her and waved his hand at the TARDIS "No this is impressive." he then pointed at Clara "This is annoying. The TARDIS never does this. This is huge! Well, not literally huge. Slightly smaller than usual. Which is huge."

"Doctor, don't get too excited." Aderyn said. She walked around the TARDIS several times then tapped lightly on the roof.

"When can I go home?" Clara asked, crossing her arms.

"Your house isn't going anywhere. And neither is mine until I get this figured out. Could you not just let me enjoy this moment of not knowing something? I mean, it happens so rarely. Look, I don't think this is dangerous." the Doctor said.

Aderyn rolled her eyes "So it will be dangerous."

"Look, you two make yourself useful. None of us are going anywhere until this is sorted." The Doctor said sternly.

Aderyn patted her pockets quickly "Well, there goes my plan of making a sudden exit. I left my vortex manipulator in my room."

"I'll take a look around." Clara said and quickly walked away from them.

"Go with her." The Doctor hissed. Aderyn opened her mouth to respond but the Doctor cut her off "Just go. You'll have a better idea of what to look out for."

With a sigh Aderyn turned to follow Clara. The Doctor watched Clara and Aderyn walk away before forcing himself back into the TARDIS. He bounded over to the console and began to pull out circuit boards and wires. He looked closely at them. Then, an alarm blared. He dropped the circuit board he'd been examining and looked up at the console "That wasn't me." He said quickly. He ran to the door and looked at it. "Oh, this isn't good."


	13. Does This Mean I'm You Now?

Aderyn and Clara walked in silence, not really going anywhere in particular. They came across an underpass and saw a group of men in yellow jackets cleaning graffiti off a wall.

They looked around at a shrine covered in flowers then up at the graffiti. All of the graffiti was generally the same. The walls of the underpass were covered in pictures of people, each facing away from them so only their backs were visible.

"Cheer up love, it might never happen." One of the men shouted.

Another, younger man, nudge him "Have some respect, they're grieving."

The first man stopped smiling "Sorry love. Didn't mean anything by it."

Aderyn and Clara kept walking. A young man hurried after them. They stopped and turned when they heard him approaching.

"Sorry about him." He said "He's an idiot."

"It's alright. I've heard worse." Clara shrugged.

"I've lost someone, too. My Aunt Karina. Deaf as a post. Didn't really know her that well but she's still gone. Is your one in the mural?" He said.

"Oh, no. We haven't actually-" Clara started. But the young man cut her off.

"I'm sure they'll get round to it at some point. I'm not really with that lot out there. I just have to do this community service thing. I just do graffiti. Not anything, you know, murdery." He said.

Aderyn nudged Clara gently in the ribs when she opened her mouth.

"So what's all this about? What happened?" Aderyn asked.

He frowned "You mean you don't know?"

"We've been away." Aderyn said.

Aderyn and Clara walked calmly back toward the TARDIS and the Doctor. As soon as they were out of earshot of anyone else, Clara phoned the Doctor.

"Hey, I think we've found something. People are missing all over the estate." She said as soon as the Doctor answered the phone. "Do you think there's a connection?"

"Where is he?" Aderyn asked as they walked through the waste ground where they had left him. But there was no sign of the TARDIS now.

"Where are you?" Clara asked the Doctor. She moved her phone away from her ear and put it on loud speaker.

"Exactly where I was." The Doctor said.

"We can't see you." Aderyn said. She then raised an eyebrow and looked down at the ground "Oh."

"Yes, oh." The Doctor said darkly.

Clara looked down and laughed "Oh, my God, that is so adorable. Are you in there?" She giggled.

Aderyn bent down next to the TARDIS, which was now no more than about six inches tall.

"Yes I am," The Doctor sighed "And it's not adorable. It's very, very serious."

"Are you the same size in there?" Clara asked, crouching next to Aderyn.

"Of course he is." Aderyn said "It's just the outside that's different."

The tiny door creaked open slowly and they looked at the Doctor's face. Aderyn knew how serious the situation was, and that was the only thing that kept her from laughing. Clara had less luck. She clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

"This is not funny." The Doctor snapped.

"Yeah, well, I can't help it, can I, with you and your big old face." Clara said.

"How are you going to get out?" Aderyn asked.

"Well, plainly I can't. Something nearby is leeching all the external dimensions." The Doctor sighed.

"Hang on, what about Aderyn's vortex manipulator?" Clara asked quickly.

"Wouldn't work." Aderyn said "To use it inside the TARDIS, you have to lower shields and change a few settings. She's not going to let anyone change a few settings while something is messing with external dimension."

"Change a few settings?" The Doctor scoffed.

"I was simplifying." Aderyn said "So what's causing this?"

"Aliens?" Clara asked.

"Possibly. Oh, who am I kidding? Probably. Sensors are down and I can't risk taking off with it in this state. Aderyn, I need you to pick up the TARDIS. Carefully. It should be possible. I've adjusted the relative gravity." The Doctor said.

Aderyn carefully lifted the TARDIS.

"You mean you've made it lighter?" Clara asked, glad that Aderyn had now straightened up. As she followed suit, she felt the blood rushing back to her feet in a wave of a tingling sensation.

"The TARDIS is always lighter. If the TARDIS were to land with her true weight she would fracture the surface of the Earth." Aderyn said.

"You're doing it again." Clara muttered.

"Doing what?" Aderyn frowned.

"Sounding just like him." Clara said, nodding to the small TARDIS in the Aderyn's hand.

The Doctor always assumed that Aderyn and Clara never held a conversation when he wasn't in the room. And they were more than happy to let him believe this. Any conversation they did have was usually full of bickering and arguing. But last time they were in the TARDIS together and the Doctor had wondered off and left them in the console room, Aderyn had let Clara know about her deal with the Doctor, the deal that she wouldn't start an argument. But she told Clara she needed her help with that. Clara had agreed that she would be as pleasant as possible and not purposefully goad Aderyn into an argument. She had her own terms to that agreement. Since the Doctor's regeneration, every time she had looked at him, she had seen Aderyn reflected in his face. He truly had no idea how much he now looked like Aderyn. So Clara had demanded that for them to get along Aderyn would have to act less like the Doctor. Clara knew there was nothing either of them could do about how similar they looked, but if they acted different then she would be able to see the Doctor as the Doctor and Aderyn as someone else. After Aderyn's demands that Clara told her why she suddenly had to change the way she acted and spoke, Clara reluctantly told her. She had expected Aderyn to laugh and make fun of her for it. But as the Doctor had walked back into the console room, Aderyn had looked at him curiously with her head cocked to one side, as though really seeing him for the first time, then quietly agreed to her terms. The truth was, Aderyn had never thought about how much the Doctor now looked like her. But once Clara had mentioned it, it was plain to see.

"Sorry." Aderyn muttered.

"What are you two whispering about?" The Doctor asked.

"Just a few remarks you wouldn't appreciate." Aderyn said quickly.

"So what now?" Clara asked.

"I've managed to get a rough fix on the source of the dimensional leeching. It's roughly north west." The Doctor poked his had through the open TARDIS door "It's that way." He pointed behind them. Aderyn and Clara leant away from the TARDIS as the Doctor retracted his hand back through the door.

"Please don't do that. That's weird." Clara said.

"You're going to need these." He extended his hand through the door again towards Clara. She winced at the sight but took the psychic paper and sonic screwdriver he was holding out.

Clara raised an eyebrow "Oh wow, does this mean I'm you now?"

"Don't get any ideas." The Doctor said firmly. He withdrew his hand again then soon held something else out "You both need to stick these in your ears."

Clara took the two small earpieces the Doctor was holding and handed one to Aderyn. They both did as the Doctor told them.

"Put this in your bag." Aderyn said, when the Doctor had closed the TARDIS door again. Clara was barely able to stuff the TARDIS into her bag. But it was soon tucked in.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor looked at the split screen view he had on the console scanner. "Can you hear me?" He asked. He tapped the screen. One half showed a clear image. The other was somewhat blurred.

"Yes." He heard Clara say slowly.

"Yeah." Came Aderyn's, less freaked out, reply.

"Aderyn, you haven't put your contact lenses in today." He said.

"How do you know?" Aderyn asked.

"I've hacked your optic nerve. I can see everything you see and your eyesight isn't great. Put your glasses on."

"You wear glasses?" Clara asked.

"Sometimes but I prefer wearing contacts."

On the screen the Doctor saw a brief glimpse of black frames before the picture became clear. It was strange looking at Aderyn through Clara's eyes. It was like looking at an old picture of someone that was taken before you knew them, a picture where you know it's them but there's something very different.

"They suit you." Clara said.

"I think I preferred it when you were arguing not flirting." The Doctor said. He looked closer at Aderyn on the screen "Hang on, are those my glasses?"

Aderyn adjusted them needlessly "They were. But you don't wear them any more and these suit me."

"Did you really take my glasses?"

Aderyn nodded "And a couple of jumpers and a leather jacket."

"I wondered where that went." The Doctor muttered.

Clara cleared her throat "Can we get back to the shrinking TARDIS please?"

They wondered back along the route they had initially taken, finding themselves in a shopping precinct. Clara held out the Doctor's sonic screwdriver and turned on the spot. "You getting anything?" She asked.

"Yeah, dizzy." the Doctor sighed "but nothing useful."

"Hey." Clara and Aderyn turned. The man from the community service group was heading towards them. Behind him, they could see the rest of the group, sat on benches eating lunch. "I never did get your names."

Aderyn heard the Doctor sigh "Now is not the time to fraternize. Get rid of him."

"I'm the Doctor." Clara said.

"Don't!" The Doctor warned.

"Doctor Oswald. But you can call me Clara." Clara continued.

"I'm Rigsy. What are you a Doctor of?"

"Lies." The Doctor said.

Clara smiled politely " Well, I'm usually quite vague about that. I think I just picked the title because it makes me sound important."

Rigsy laughed "And your friend here?"

"Jane Smith." Aderyn said.

"You're both awful." The Doctor muttered.

"What are you exactly? You don't smell like police but that's some pretty cool gear you got there. Are you spies or something?" Rigsy said.

"Oh, he's a bright one. Hang on to him." The Doctor said. Aderyn could practically hear him roll his eyes.

"What do you know about the people that have disappeared?" Aderyn asked.


	14. Missing Man, Locked Room Shrink Ray?

Rigsy led them to a nearby block of flats, up the stairs and to a front door that was covered in police tape. Rigsy broke the tape "He was the last one to go missing." He pushed open the front door and stood aside to let Aderyn and Clara through first.

"When he disappeared, all the windows and doors were locked from the inside." Rigsy continued.

"Ooh, now you're talking. I love a good locked room mystery." The Doctor said.

"Yeah, don't we all." Clara said. Aderyn rolled her eyes.

"Stop rolling your eyes. It's disconcerting." The Doctor muttered.

"Sorry." Aderyn muttered.

"What?" Rigsy said, frowning at Clara.

"Oh sorry. I'm talking to somebody else. He's listening in. Doctor, Rigsy, Rigsy, the Doctor." Clara said.

"Hello, barely sentient local." The Doctor said. Aderyn put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

"Another Doctor?" Rigsy asked.

"How do you sleep at night?" The Doctor said "So, missing people, tiny TARDIS. What's the link?"

Aderyn walked slowly around the flat, pausing to look at a mural on a wall. It looked like a large painting of a cracked, sandy surface.

"I think this is great that someone's finally looking into this. The police weren't doing anything. They never do on this estate. People were thinking that no one was listening. That no one cared. So, yeah, it's great what you're doing." Rigsy said. Aderyn was silently grateful that Rigsy had clearly taken a liking to Clara. It meant he wasn't really paying any attention to her, leaving her free to wonder round and make her own observations. Though right now, her own observations involved staring at the strange painting on the wall.

"Clara, look, I think that we can manage on our own from now on." The Doctor said.

"I think he could still be useful." Clara said.

"He's a pudding brain." The Doctor argued. "Worse than that, he's a fluorescent pudding brain."

Clara sighed heavily "Okay, fine."

"Aderyn, pay attention to what's going on. I'm getting bored looking at the wall."

Aderyn shrugged and turned away from the wall "So Rigsy, all those other missing people, I suppose you know where they lived?"

"He could still be in the room." Rigsy said suddenly.

"What?" Aderyn said.

"Sorry, nothing. I was just thinking out loud. It's like one of those locked room things you get in books. It's always something weird, like, he's still in the room or something. Do you want to go and check out another flat?"

Aderyn looked at her reflection in an oval mirror above the mantle and raised her eyebrow, knowing the Doctor would have seen that and most likely raised his own expressive eyebrow himself.

"Do you know, I think that you were wrong about this lad. I think that he could be very useful. Vital local knowledge." The Doctor said.

"A pudding brain being useful. There's a surprise." Aderyn said.

"Aderyn, don't be sarcastic. Clara, don't scare him off."

"But sarcasm works for me." Aderyn whined.

"Why am I the one being told not to scare him off?" Clara protested.

"Because you're more likely to." The Doctor said.

"Ok, whatever. But are we missing something here? Missing man, locked room. Shrink ray?" Clara said.

"Shrink ray?" Rigsy frowned.

"What if he is still in this room like you said, only tiny? You know, like underneath the sofa or something." Clara dropped to her hands and knees and peered under the sofa.

"I think this is the scaring off the Doctor was talking about." Aderyn muttered.

"Okay. So er, my lunch break's nearly up. This has been er, interesting." Rigsy said, backing towards the door.

"Stop local knowledge leaving." The Doctor said.

Aderyn grabbed the shrunken TARDIS out of Clara's bag. "Rigsy, wait a sec." She placed it on a small table "Doctor, open the doors."

"This isn't what I meant." the Doctor said, but he opened the doors all the same.

"Rigsy, this is the Doctor." Aderyn said as Rigsy peered in through the small doors to see the Doctor, leaning casually against the console.

"It's bigger on the inside." Rigsy breathed.

"Right now, you have no idea how true that statement is." The Doctor said.

Rigsy looked from the Doctor to Clara and Aderyn "What are you? Like, aliens, or something?"

"No." Clara said "Well he is. And she is."

"Not completely." Aderyn corrected.

Rigsy smiled nervously at Aderyn "You look like him."

"That's because he's my dad. And you're the first person who isn't Clara to say that." Aderyn smiled.

"So what do you think? Tiny man idea?" Clara asked.

The Doctor crossed his arms "Yes, it's a lovely thought. Which is why I set the sonic to scan for that as soon as we entered."

Clara's pleased smile faded "And you didn't think to tell me?"

The Doctor shrugged "Well, of course he might have been squashed under a policeman's shoe by now."

There were several loud sizzles and pops from somewhere inside the TARDIS and an alarm blared. The Doctor closed the doors.

"What was that?" Clara asked.

"Whatever it was drained a massive amount of energy from inside the TARDIS." The Doctor said.

"You're not going to shrink again are you?" Aderyn asked nervously.

"Not if you get me out of here." The Doctor said. Aderyn picked up the TARDIS and held it close to her chest.

"Rigsy, this is where we run. Stick with us." Clara said, she then ran from the flat.


	15. Maybe it's a Regional Thing

The next house they went to belonged to the first one to disappear. Against the Doctor's orders, Aderyn had contacted the local police force and they were met at the scene by a young policewoman, who had introduced herself as PC Forrest. She looked skeptically at Clara as she looked at the psychic paper. "MI5?" She asked, looking at Clara's paper.

"Yes, this case has got our attention." Clara confirmed.

Then Forrest handed the psychic paper back to Clara and then looked at Aderyn "And your ID?"

Aderyn handed the woman an ID card. Clara could see that it wasn't the psychic paper.

"UNIT? UNIT are interested in this as well"

"Yes." Aderyn said, taking her card back "We love a good mysterious disappearance."

She seemed happy enough with their ID and sparred Rigsy a cursory glance. "He's with her." Aderyn said, nodding at Clara "He's learning."

Somehow, the young woman seemed satisfied. "You've come to the right place." She said to Aderyn and Clara "First reported disappearance, a Mister Heath. It's not on the estate, but it's exactly the same MO as the rest."

"Clara, I think your shrink ray theory was wrong." the Doctor said.

"My shrink ray theory? I thought you were already scanning for that?" Clara snapped.

"It just struck me." The Doctor said slowly, as though considering every word. "Locked room mysteries. Classic solution number one, they're still in the room. Classic solution number two, they're in the walls."

Aderyn looked around at Clara, hoping Clara was as confused as she was. Clara certainly did look confused. And her confusion seemed to increase when a lump hammer began emerging from the TARDIS in her bag.

She smiled apologetically as PC Forrest turned back to them "Apparently they're in the walls."

Rigsy opted to take the hammer from Clara and swung it at a wall. Aderyn fanned the dust away from the hole and poked her head through it. She couldn't see anything and stepped back to let Rigsy swing the hammer at the wall again.

Aderyn watched PC Forrest from the corner of her eye as she left the room to answer a phone call.

"Something doesn't feel right about this." Aderyn muttered.

"What would feel right about this?" The Doctor said.

"That's not what I mean. I mean this flat. There's a strange feeling here." Aderyn said.

"I thought you didn't believe in ghosts and spirits." Clara said.

"I don't. And that's not what I mean." Aderyn said. She then shook her head and stuffed her hands in her pockets. She couldn't describe what she felt. Just a feeling, a bad one.

"So, you two and that bloke in a box. You do this sort of stuff a lot?" Rigsy asked casually.

"He's usually the one out of the box." Clara said.

"So how did you get this gig? Study science, or aliens, or something?"

"No. Just right place, right time." Aderyn shrugged.

"Or wrong place, wrong time. Depends on what mood he's in." Clara added.

Aderyn grinned, glad for once that she didn't have to hide the smiles when Clara got one over on the Doctor.

"I can hear you." The Doctor snapped.

Neither Clara or Aderyn looked at each other, knowing that if they did, the Doctor would see their grinning.

But their grins faded when they heard Forrest's panicked shout. "There's something in here I think." They heard her scream before they'd even had a chance to look around. By the time they reached the kitchen, there was no sign of PC Forrest, save for a small torch that lay on the floor.

Clara looked desperately around the room "Doctor, she's gone."

Aderyn was staring at the wall "What is it with all of these scenes having strange artwork?" she muttered to herself, completely forgetting that the Doctor could actually hear what she was saying.

"It's just artwork." The Doctor said "Maybe it's a regional thing."

Clara looked around at what had caught Aderyn's attention so fully. The wall was a pale, off-white colour with thin red lines that snaked across it, branching out from each other.

"Aderyn, stop staring at the wall." The Doctor snapped. Aderyn turned quickly on the spot and scoured the room. There really was no sign of PC Forrest and the only way to get out of the kitchen was through the living room, passed Aderyn, Clara and Rigsy.

"What am I missing?" The Doctor groaned "The TARDIS should be able to detect anything in the universe. The known universe. This universe."

"Yeah, well the TARDIS isn't exactly feeling like herself at the minute." Aderyn said.

"Wait, go back!" The Doctor shouted so loudly that both Aderyn and Clara put their hand to their ear, ready to pull the earpiece out.

"Not so loud." Aderyn snapped "Go back to where?"

"The mural. Go back to the mural."The Doctor said quieter. "That's not just strange artwork. That's a nervous system. Scaled up and flattened. I think we've found PC Forrest. What's left of her, at least."

"Her nervous system?" Clara asked uncertainly.

"And the other one. Not a desert, but a microscopic blow up of human skin." The Doctor said.

"So," Aderyn said slowly "Whoever is behind this is turning victims into strange works of art?"

"No, no." the Doctor said "What ever they are, they are experimenting, they are testing. They are dissecting. Trying to understand us. Trying to understand three dimensions."

"We need to get out now." Aderyn said quickly. She pushed Clara and Rigsy back to the lounge and toward the front door "I told you something wasn't right about this place. Whatever it is, it's still here."

As they reached the front door, there was a hiss and sizzle and there was no door handle left for them to reach for.

"They've flattened the handle." Aderyn sighed. They looked around the room for another exit.

"Ok we really need to go now." Clara said, looking at what used to be the sofa but was now no more than a drawing on the wall.

"Get out now and don't let them touch you." The Doctor barked at them.

"Don't let them touch you." Aderyn said to Rigsy "Doctor's orders. We need to get out."

The floor around them began to ripple.

Aderyn looked desperately around the room for another means of escape. The ripples in the carpet were getting ever closer to them. A few feet from the windows, two hanging chairs, attached to the ceiling caught her attention.

"60s throwback." She said loudly. Without any warning, she grabbed Clara and hoisted her onto the chair. Rigsy jumped on to the other one. Aderyn was able to get her feet onto the seat of the chair just as the ripples in the carpet reached where they had been stood. Aderyn grabbed hold of Clara as she began to slip as she tried to turn and hold onto the chain that suspended the chair. She risked falling from Aderyn's grasp as her phone rang and she struggled to get it out of her bag.

"Hey you." she said cheerfully into the phone.

Aderyn didn't need to hear the conversation to know it was Danny. She used the time Clara was talking to look around the room. They were a little too far from the window to easily make the jump. She tightened her hold on Clara and began to swing the chair towards the window.

"The window." She said as the walls and ceilings began to ripple as it, whatever it was, made it's way toward them.

"No, no, I'm fine." Clara said into the phone quickly. Aderyn looked around to make sure that Rigsy was copying their actions. He was. Without the added weight of another person on the chair, he'd managed to get closer to the window. Aderyn soniced the window and the glass shattered moments before he launched himself from the chair. Aderyn grabbed Clara's phone from her, covering the microphone tightly with one hand and grabbed Clara with the other. She jumped, pulling Clara through the window with her. She landed neatly on her feet, somehow keeping Clara upright as they landed in the garden. She gave Clara her phone back and helped Rigsy to his feet, brushing the broken glass from his jumper.

"No, honestly I'm fine." Clara said quickly as her conversation resumed.

Aderyn walked over to Clara and took her phone.

"Hi Danny." She said quickly. "Don't worry, she is completely fine."

"If she's with you are you sure?" Danny asked.

"Thanks for your vote of confidence. But she's fine. She volunteered to get rid of a spider for me."

"A spider?" Danny snorted.

"It was huge." Aderyn said gravely. She then handed the phone back to Clara and waved her hand for Clara and Rigsy to follow her.

Adrenaline coursed through her at great speed. The mundanity of the streets around her felt strange but helped ground her thoughts.

"A spider?" The Doctor said as Clara tucked her phone back into her bag.

"It was better than her just saying everything was fine." Aderyn said "Clara, you are a bad liar."

"And what long story are you going to tell Danny, huh? Or haven't you made it up yet?" The Doctor asked.

"What?" Clara asked innocently.

"That was some excellent lying." The Doctor said.

"No, Addy is right. It was terrible."

"I meant to me. You told me that Danny was okay with you being back on board the TARDIS."

"Do you want me to take the earpiece out for this?" Aderyn asked quickly.

"No it's fine. He's fine with it." Clara said. But she wouldn't look at Aderyn.

"Because he doesn't know?" Aderyn asked.

"Shut up." Clara muttered.

"Congratulations." The Doctor said quietly "Lying is a vital survival skill."

They walked in silence for several minutes, neither certain what to say. They were used to the Doctor being physically with them, talking on and on about everything they see, rambling on about what they're up against with Aderyn being the only one that could completely follow what he was saying. But now he wasn't next to them, now they weren't taking huge strides to keep up with him, the world felt wrong.

"So what is going on?" Aderyn said.

"They're from a universe with only two dimensions. And, yes, that is a thing. It's long been theorised, of course, but no one could go there and prove its existence without a heck of a diet." The Doctor said.

"So we're dealing with two dimensional creatures that are turning three dimensional objects and people into artwork?" Clara asked.

"Pretty much." Aderyn said. She looked over at Rigsy, who was walking on the other side of Clara "Feel free to run, Rigsy. We can sort this out."

"It's safer with you two. You know what you're doing." Rigsy said.

Aderyn smiled "Keep telling yourself that."


	16. Lie to Them

Aderyn lead the way. She didn't really know where they were going, but walking helped her think.

"What to do." She muttered.

They soon found themselves back at the underpass. The community service group were back at work. There was a large bucket of paint just inside the underpass and paintbrushes were being handed out. They all knew what that meant. The mural was going to be painted over.

Rigsy ran up to them and protested loudly.

"Don't let them cover it. That isn't just a painting. Those are the missing people." The Doctor said quickly "act normal but get everyone out."

Aderyn and Clara went over to the group, Clara stopped by the mural "They're very realistic. Who painted them?" She asked loudly.

Rigsy gave up trying to wrestle a paint brush from a young man's hand.

"No idea. Local artist I except." He said.

"Did anyone see it happen or did they just appear?" Clara asked.

An angry looking man stomped toward Aderyn and Clara. He was a short, balding man who had the general appearance of someone who was perpetually furious. Aderyn stepped in front of him, blocking his path to Clara. He was undeterred by Aderyn, who was considerably taller and loomed threateningly over him. He merely peered around her at Clara.

"Who are you when you're at home, love?" He sneered.

Clara held out the psychic paper "Health and safety. This tunnel is unsafe. Everyone needs to leave now."

"Nice try. It's blank." he sneered at her. Aderyn looked over her shoulder at Clara, who was still holding out the psychic paper. She looked at it. She could clearly see Health and Safety written on it.

Clara saw Aderyn's confused frown and knew, before she turned the paper around to look at it, the this man was the only one who saw it as blank.

"It takes quite a lack of imagination to beat the psychic paper." the Doctor muttered "you're on your own as far as he goes."

"Really helpful, Doctor." Aderyn muttered.

The angry man turned back to the man with the paint brush "Stan, do your job." he barked.

"Stop him." The Doctor shouted. Aderyn was the first to spring into action. She took a few quick steps toward the man with the brush. But not even she was quick enough. As soon as Stan's brush touched the wall he was sucked into it. He had joined the mural. Every image on the wall began to turn to face them.

"Everyone move!" Aderyn shouted. They ran as quickly as they could as the paintings slid off the wall and along the tarmac behind them. Aderyn had no idea where they were going. All she knew is that they were nothing more than a confused, panicked mob at that moment. And she knew that put them at a disadvantage.

It transpired that when everyone had started to run, Rigsy had gained a lead, and without any other idea of what to do, everyone had followed him. They followed him into a train shed. Aderyn held little faith that the flimsy, corrugated iron door would hold up against a breeze, never mind whatever it was that was chasing them. But out of some strange, innate belief that it would block out some of the outside world, she closed it behind them anyway.

In the shed, with nowhere left to run, everyone stopped. Clara took the Doctor's sonic screwdriver out of her pocket and began to scan their surroundings while Aderyn did a quick head count.

"Did they follow us? Cos I didn't see them follow us. Are we safe?" A man asked.

"Did we really just run from killer graffiti?" Another asked.

"What's your name?" Aderyn asked the two men.

"George." Said the first.

"Al." Said the second.

"George, I didn't see them follow us but it's a possibility they have. Though we may have, at least, got a head start. Al, it's looking likely but we really need to come up with a better name than that." Aderyn said brightly. Her smile quickly faded when she turned to look at Clara. "Are we clear?"

"Looks like it." Clara said, putting the sonic back into her pocket.

They stood for a moment taking deep breaths. The Doctor cleared his throat quietly and politely "This is a vital stage. The group is confused and disorientated. But pretty soon a leader is going to emerge. You need to make sure that leader is one of you."

Clara looked at Aderyn. Aderyn purposefully avoided her gaze, looking all around the shed but not at Clara. Clara sighed and turned a smile on the group, who were all looking at them.

"George, wasn't it?" George looked momentarily panicked but nodded all the same. "Can you watch that area? If you hear anything, anything moves, you shout, okay?" Clara pointed toward the door. George nodded and took up his post, staring through a gap in the door.

"He will do no such thing until I get some answers. Who are you? That's what I want to know. Impersonating a government official. Trespassing on council property." The angry man shouted.

"Sorry, who is this guy?" Aderyn asked. She looked over the Man's head at Rigsy.

"Fenton. He's the group warden." Rigsy said.

"Listen, Fenton," Aderyn said, her voice low and threatening "The question of who we are is far more complicated than your tiny little brain can handle right now. I would strongly advise you shut up and do as you're told."

"Who put you two in charge?" Fenton roared.

Clara put a gentle hand on Aderyn's arm and, much to Clara's surprise, she backed away from Fenton.

"I'll tell you who we are." Clara said calmly "We are the one chance you've got of getting out of this. I'm the one who's going to tell you what to do so you can stay alive. That's who I am."

"And what about her?" Fenton sneered at Aderyn.

Aderyn smiled "I'm the one who makes sure you do it."

When Fenton turned away from them, Aderyn smiled at Clara "Nicely done."

"I'm surprised you didn't jump at the chance." Clara muttered.

Aderyn shook her head "nah, too likely to punch someone."

"I really need to talk to Vastra about this violent streak you've picked up." the Doctor said.

"It comes in useful sometimes." Aderyn said

The Doctor sighed "Well done. The right person is a in charge." He was impressed. Both Clara and Aderyn were somehow managing to keep some form of control over the situation, they were getting along, or at least pretending to, and Aderyn had allowed Clara to take the lead. He knew Aderyn far better than he ever let on and he knew this was a test. He knew Aderyn was stepping back to see how well Clara would do in keeping everyone alive, keeping control and going into the unknown. He wasn't entirely certain he was happy about that. But he knew this wasn't the time to mention it. And he had seen what Aderyn had seen, he had seen that Aderyn was keeping a close eye on Clara and everything that was going on. He felt a little more at ease knowing that Aderyn was actually keeping an eye on her rather than leaving that to him.

"Rigsy?" Aderyn asked "How well do you know this area?"

Rigsy shrugged "Fairly well." he then pointed to a door that neither Aderyn or Clara had spotted "That leads to the old Brunswick line. It's not that safe though."

"Reckon you could get us through it?" Clara asked.

"I guess. I used to go down there all the time."

Fenton glared at him "Yeah, I'll bet you did. Painting your filth."

"Yeah and you might be glad he did. If those things come in here that may be our only way out." Clara snapped. She then turned back to Aderyn and muttered quietly "I just hope we can keep them alive."

"Welcome to my world." The Doctor said darkly "So what next?"

"Lie to them." Aderyn said quickly.

"What?" The Doctor asked.

"She's right." Clara said "Give them hope. Tell them they're all going to be fine. It's true that people with hope tend to run faster, whereas people who think they're doomed dawdle. End up dead."

"Doctor, should you choose to stop saving the universe, I think we've found your replacement." Aderyn said slowly.

Clara elbowed her in the ribs "Shut up."

"Right, here's something that may be of some help. Remember all that graffiti from the estate? And the strange art work in the houses? I think that is how those creatures saw us."

" The impressions we make in two dimensional space. That was them reaching out, attempting to talk. At which point they moved into flattening and dissection. Trying to understand. Trying to emulate. But here's the big question. Do they know they're hurting us?" Aderyn said quickly.

"Exactly." The Doctor said. "I've worked out how to communicate with them, they're responding. The TARDIS is translating now."

"We need to hear this." Clara said. She walked over to one of the wooden pillars around the room and looked up at a tannoy speaker attached to it. She stood on a stack of boxes in order to reach it with the sonic screwdriver.

"What are you doing now?" Fenton asked.

"The Doctor has an idea." Aderyn said.


	17. His hunches are usually right

"What makes this colleague of yours think they even want to talk?" Fenton asked.

"I know a race made of sentient gas who throw fireballs as a friendly wave. I know another race with sixty four stomachs who talk to each other by disemboweling." The Doctor replied curtly, as though he had forgotten that only Clara and Aderyn could hear him.

"He has a hunch." Aderyn said.

"We're going on a hunch?"

Aderyn scratched the back of her head "Trust me, his hunches are usually right."

"This is ridiculous." Fenton barked.

"I'm going to punch him." Aderyn muttered so only Clara could hear her. She then turned to Fenton "Well then, what's your idea? You have any idea what we're up against? You have any idea what to do about it?"

"Aderyn, shush." Clara said quickly. "I think we're getting something."

Aderyn fell silent, but continued to glare at Fenton as though daring him to say anything. But he didn't and they all listened as the sonic screwdriver sent the signal to the TARDIS through the speaker.

"It's a number." The Doctor said quickly "Fifty five."

"Fifty five? What does that mean?" Clara asked.

"I know what it means. We all have numbers on our jackets. Have to sign them out. That was the number on Stan's jacket, the man they flattened in the subway." Rigsy said.

"They're gloating." Fenton said.

"Would you just shut up?" Aderyn yelled at him.

"We're getting another one." Clara said. She listened, waiting for the Doctor to tell her the message "Twenty two."

"Who has twenty two?" Aderyn asked. The group looked around, looking at the numbers on each other's jackets.

After a few moments, Aderyn and Clara looked around at George, who hadn't moved or made a sound since taking up his post by the door.

"They're picking targets." Fenton spat.

Aderyn felt her ability to put up with Fenton fading quickly. She turned away from George, intending to finally let her temper fly. But Rigsy was one step ahead of her. As she ran forward to keep Rigsy and Fenton apart, Clara walked slowly over to George.

The Doctor stopped paying attention to Aderyn's attempt to diffuse the argument. And he was grateful he did. He watched George as Clara approached him. He saw what Clara missed.

"Aderyn, look out for Clara." He shouted.

Aderyn, having finally wrenched the quarrelling men apart, instantly let go of their coats and ran at Clara. Just as Aderyn reached her they both came to the same, horrifying realisation. George began to dissolve into the wall and floor. Aderyn slipped her arm around Clara and pulled her away from him.

"We need to move out. Everyone to the tunnel." She yelled.

No one needed telling twice. They rushed to the door and the safety of the tunnel beneath. Aderyn was the last to go, pushing Clara ahead of her when she tried to pull Aderyn along. She kept her eyes on the creature slowly moving along the floor towards them.

"Just get everyone down there. Keep them together. Stay in charge." Aderyn shouted at her. When she was the only one left in the train shed, she turned on her heels and ran. George, or whatever he had become, had moved slowly enough to give them all a chance to escape and her a chance to scan it with her sonic screwdriver. She was still looking at the readings when she caught up with Clara and the group.

"The sonic isn't picking up anything. Just the fact they're there. No idea what they are still." She said as she put the sonic back in her pocket. This was completely new territory for her. She was used to charging around behind the Doctor and doing as he said and being able to get a reading from the sonic screwdriver that gave her some sort of clue. But not this time.

"Doctor, what do we do?" She asked eventually.

"I'm working on it. Give me a minute." The Doctor said.

"We may not have a minute." Clara said.

They continued down the tunnel, not running now, but in a state of forced calm. They picked up the pace when they spotted a door. Clara reached the door first. It was a large steel door, one of the ones that had a huge wheel that needed to be turned to open. Clara reached for the wheel and realised it had been flattened against the rusty metal.

"Another flat handle." she muttered "They were here. Not now. They've stopped chasing us, I think. It feels like they're cornering us."

"You can't apply human logic. You're dealing with creatures from another dimension." The Doctor sighed.

"That's three exits they blocked in total today. I think it's fair to apply human logic in this case." Aderyn said.

"Rigsy, where's the next exit?" Clara asked.

Rigsy pointed further down the tunnel "Down where the old line joins the new, but it's a fair walk. Getting through that door would be quicker."

"But we can't, can we?" Fenton pointed out.

"I'm just saying." Rigsy snapped at him.

"Give me five minutes and I can help with that door." The Doctor said.

"Don't start again." Aderyn barked at Rigsy and Fenton. She started walking the direction Rigsy had indicated and soon heard the gravelly footsteps of everyone else following her "Is this what it's like Doctor?"

"What what's like?"

"What it's like for you when me and Clara are in the same room? Always being ready to jump in and try and break up an argument? Trying to figure everything out but trying to keep the peace at the same time?" Aderyn asked quietly.

Fully aware that he had both Aderyn and Clara's full attention, the Doctor sighed "It can be. You get used to it. You spot the early warning signs."

"I'm sorry." Aderyn said. She then took her earpiece out. She hadn't intended to have it out for very long, she just needed a moment of quiet contemplation. It was a rare occasion she ever saw anything from the Doctor's perspective. That had only happened a couple of times. And last time had felt bad enough. She had roped Clara into lying for her, she'd had the lives of other people in her hands, she'd not cared about the rules. It had been a horrible feeling. And that feeling had returned. She'd figured out fairly easily that Rigsy and Fenton would clash. She was getting very annoyed with trying to keep them apart. Not for the first time, she felt a pang of guilt in regards to her actions. She had never thought about what the Doctor went through whenever she and Clara were in the same room. She put her ear piece back in, expecting to hear Clara or the Doctor trail off, aware that she could hear them again. But the Doctor wasn't talking and Clara was clearly talking to Rigsy.

"Addy, in a situation like this, when people are more preoccupied with arguing among themselves, you have to get your priorities in order." The Doctor said quietly. Clara fell silent, clearly listening to the Doctor "You make it your priority to get everyone out alive. You worry about the disagreements later. Just make sure you get as many people out as possible."

Aderyn hung back and told everyone else to keep walking. She waited for Clara to catch up. She didn't say anything, she just walked next to her. After a few minutes of quiet travelling, and without looking, Aderyn reached her hand out and sought Clara's.

Clara didn't look down. She didn't want to draw the Doctor's attention to Aderyn's unusual behaviour. She let Aderyn take hold of her hand and she squeezed Aderyn's hand. Aderyn let her hand go when they reached a door, similar to the first. This one also had a flattened wheel. The Doctor triumphantly announced he had figured out a way of restoring small things, like door handles, to three dimensions.

"A de-flattner?" Clara questioned.

"It's not called a de-flattener." The Doctor said curtly. His hand emerged from Clara's bag and he waved a small device at them. It was about the size of a calculator with a few buttons and an aerial.

Clara took it. She raised her eyebrow at the crudely scrawled label the Doctor had stuck to it. 2Dis. "Two D is?"

"No, not Two D is. Two dis." The Doctor said.

"Very droll, Doctor." Aderyn said, though her voice conveyed no hint of amusement.

Clara aimed it at the wheel of the door. Green rays of light pulsed from it like smoke rings. Then there was a small bang and the 2Dis began to smoke. Clara handed it back into the TARDIS to the Doctor.

"Let's keep moving." Aderyn said.

Aderyn and Clara raised their hands to their earpieces when they both heard an alarm.

"Tell me that wasn't inside the TARDIS." Aderyn said.

"They're doing it again. They're leeching the TARDIS." The Doctor said.

"How? The doors aren't open." Clara asked.

"They've changed the frequency. This time it's different." The Doctor told them.

Clara looked up at the group. They were hardly a group anymore. Al, Fenton and Rigsy stood before them, looking expectant.

"The Doctor thinks we might be in trouble. He thinks they might be close." Clara said.

"Where, exactly?" Fenton asked.

"Impossible to tell. There's too many signals and readings." Aderyn said.

Fenton sneered "Oh, that's just great. Sounds important but means absolutely nothing. Can you tell your friend..."

But what they were meant to tell the Doctor went unsaid as a huge shadow was cast along the roof of the tunnel and a giant hand took hold the unsuspecting Al. Before they could make a grab for the helpless man, he was dragged backwards down the tunnel.

"Of course. The next stage, 3D." Aderyn breathed.

Lumps and bulges appeared on the floor, moving closer to each other and closer to them. When they connected they rose out of the floor and resolved themselves into images of the missing people.

"Run!" Aderyn shouted. They pelted back down the tunnel until they reached the door with the flattened handle.

"Go through there." The Doctor said.

"Flattened handle." Aderyn yelled.

The Doctor thrust his hand out of Clara's bag, again waving the 2Dis at them.

"I've boosted the output." He said.

"And it'll work?" Aderyn asked.

"Have faith." The Doctor said.

This time it worked. Rigsy turned the wheel and opened the door. Aderyn ushered everyone through and slammed the door behind them.

"Clara, you can reverse the process. Make the handle flat again." The Doctor said.

While Clara did that, Aderyn looked around. She had expected to find themselves in a room, but there was a short, darkened corridor ahead of them.

"There's a ladder at the end of this. If we get down into the tunnel, we can make it into daylight." Rigsy said.

When Clara turned away from the door, the handle was flat again.

"Can they get through that?" Aderyn asked.

"Unless they can make it three dimensional again then no." The Doctor said.

Aderyn leant against a wall and let out a long breath "I'm starting to think I'm not cut out for all this running." She said.

"Stop smoking then." The Doctor said.

Aderyn had no time to retort. The handle of the door had started to warp and was slowly becoming three dimensional again. Aderyn leapt away from the door and joined the others as they ran for the ladder that Rigsy had told them about.


	18. We're Living the Bad News

"So now they're 3D they can restore dimensions. This just keeps getting better and better." Aderyn muttered as she climbed quickly down the ladder.

"So, do you want the good news or the bad news?" The Doctor said.

They ran blindly along dark and dank corridors.

"We're in the bad news." Clara said. She risked a glance over her shoulder.

"We're living the bad news." Aderyn said. She too looked over her shoulder. She could see the strange creatures behind them. They looked almost out of focus. Their form flickered and shifted as they followed.

"The good news is I've come up with a theoretical way to send them back to their own dimension." The Doctor said.

"Then do it." Clara yelled.

"Let me guess the bad news." Aderyn said. "You can't."

"The TARDIS doesn't have enough dimensional energy to pull it off. Apparently these things can pump it out as fast as they can steal it." The Doctor said. They'd managed to gain enough of a lead, turning every corner they came to, to no longer be able to see anything that may be following them. They stopped, all breathless from running.

Fenton grabbed the TARDIS, which had been poking out of Clara's open bag. Clara and Aderyn lunged at him, trying to get it back. In his effort to try and keep it in his grasp, Fenton dropped the TARDIS. Aderyn and Clara watched in horror as the tiny TARDIS tumbled down a shaft. Clara looked down the shaft, trying to spot the stricken ship below. But she couldn't see it. This time it was Rigsy who had to try and hold Aderyn back. She made a dash for Fenton.

"You asshole." She yelled. She tried to take a swipe at him, but Rigsy was keeping her more than an arms length away.

Clara raised her hand to her ear, pressing the earpiece further in "Doctor? Doctor, can you hear me?"

"Yes. There's no need to shout. Aderyn calm down. What happened?"

Upon hearing the Doctor's voice, Aderyn stopped her desperate attempts to lay her hands on Fenton. "You got dropped down a hole. Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I don't know. My shields have gone. Structural integrity is failing. Another blow like that and I've had it." The Doctor said. There was a brief pause and, through the earpieces, they heard the creak of the TARDIS door opening "I'm on the train lines. And there's a train coming. Of course there is. Short-term re-materialisation? Not enough power. Teleport? Not enough power. Re-route the heart of the TARDIS through - not enough power! Not enough power!"

Aderyn and Clara listened. They could hear the rumble of an approaching train. But they knew there was no way either of them would be able to get down to the track quick enough.

"Can't you move the TARDIS?" Aderyn asked.

"The TARDIS couldn't boil an egg right now." The Doctor said.

"No, I meant can't you move her like the Addams Family?" Aderyn said. They rushed along the corridor searching for a way onto the track.

The Doctor was glad that neither Clara or Aderyn could see what he was doing. He knew he'd never live it down. He stuck his hand out of the door and righted the TARDIS, which had landed on it's side. He then used his hand to drag the ship away from the rails. He got to the safety of the embankment and breathed a sigh of relief. It was short lived relief when the vibrations from the oncoming train caused the TARDIS to topple back onto the rails. He looked out of the door again. The train was too close for him to have time to move the TARDIS again. He ran towards the console, sliding most of the way on his knees until he reached it. He flipped himself on to his back and pulled a lever on the underside of the console.

"Doctor?" Aderyn said. The Doctor didn't reply. Instead they were greeted with a blast of static. Clara and Aderyn exchanged anxious looks then quickened their pace. They found a ladder that lead down to the track. Aderyn didn't bother to climb all the way down it. After the first few rungs she jumped. She looked around but couldn't see the TARDIS anywhere.


	19. I really Like that Hair Band

All at the bottom of the ladder, no one knew what to do. Aderyn knew that the only reason they would have lost contact with the TARDIS was if the TARDIS had been hit. She desperately didn't want to believe it, but could see no sign of the TARDIS on the tracks.

"Now what do we do?" Rigsy asked.

"I don't know." Aderyn said quietly.

"The Doctor said to get priorities in order. We get out of this alive and come back and look for the TARDIS when it's safe." Clara said. "Is there another way down here?"

"There is. An old service elevator near the mouth of the tunnel." Rigsy said.

Clara lifted her bag higher onto her shoulder. She then took Aderyn's hand and gently pulled her to get her moving "Come on. We need to get moving."

Aderyn stopped in her tracks and pulled Clara backwards a few steps "Not that way." She said. She pointed at the roof. They all looked up. They could see shadows moving towards them in jerky motions. They turned around and saw the lights of a train coming towards them from the other direction.

Aderyn took her sonic screwdriver from her pocket and aimed it at a signal light above their heads. The light changed from green to red and they heard the screech of the train brakes.

A confused looking driver stepped out of the train cab and walked over to them "What's going on?" he asked.

Aderyn held out her psychic paper "MI5. There's a blockage in the tunnel." She said.

"Is this train empty?" Clara asked. The Driver nodded "That's great. We need to use this train to ram the blockage. Is there a way of getting it to run without a driver?"

The driver, still visibly confused, shook his head "You'll need someone to operate the Dead Man's handle. Train won't go without it."

None of them had noticed Rigsy go over to the train. But they all noted his disappearance when the train started moving. Clara and Aderyn both ran over to the train. Aderyn was the first to board it, climbing on before it had reached a great speed. Clara was close behind her.

"Get off the train. You need to help them get out." Aderyn said.

"Not a chance. You'll be better at it than me." Clara said.

Aderyn, not in the mood for arguing, sighed "If you don't think you can get off the train in time then signal me with the sonic. I'll find a way of getting you off of here." She then leapt lightly from the train. She rolled into the landing, which was an uncomfortable experience on the rough gravel and dirt. She stood up, her foot hitting against something that wasn't stones. She looked down.

"What are you doing?" Clara asked.

"I'm going to ram them. Buy you some time." Rigsy said. He didn't look round at Clara, he stared out of the window.

"You'll die." Clara said.

"I know. Now go."

Clara sighed "I'll always remember you."

"Great. Fine." Rigsy said.

"Cos I was just going to do this." She took a hair band from around her wrist and stretched it over the handle and a screw that was sticking out of the console, pulling the handle into the position it needed to be in and keeping it there. "No driver required. And I really like that hair band, but I suppose I'll just take it, will I? And every time I look at it, I'll remember the hero who died to save it."

Rigsy gave her a half smile and she pulled him from the seat "Come on. You're not getting off that lightly. There's work to do. Besides, I don't think it's safe to leave Aderyn alone with Fenton for too long." They ran along the train, opening a door at the back. They jumped and landed painfully on the track. They looked around at the train. Seconds later, the train was nothing more than a mural on the wall of the tunnel. They got to their feet and walked back along the track, away from the train and away from the daylight that was streaming promisingly through the mouth of the tunnel.

Aderyn had stayed away from Fenton, several feet away in fact. She couldn't stand the very thought of him being there. After all, if he hadn't have grabbed the TARDIS, then she would still have some hope. She ran up to Clara as soon as she saw her and held out a small box. Clara took it, turning it over in her hands. It was dark blue and each side was marked with circular symbols. "What's this?" She asked.

"It's a siege cube." Aderyn said.

"A siege what?" Rigsy asked.

"A siege cube. It's the TARDIS. The Doctor must have put her into siege mode. This is the result. This cube is indestructible." Aderyn said.

"Why do I feel like there is a but hidden in that somewhere?" Clara asked.

"The Doctor said the TARDIS had no power. Whatever power she did have, would have gone into going into siege mode. There's no way out of it." Aderyn said sadly.

Clara handed the cube back to Aderyn "You keep hold of it. I can't see anyone trying to get it off you."

"Give me your earpiece. I've got an idea." Aderyn said. She followed Clara and Rigsy back to the Fenton and the train driver. She soniced the earpiece as she walked, occasionally scrolling through the screwdrivers many settings.

"What do we do now?" Rigsy asked. Aderyn shrugged.

"We need somewhere safe to think for a minute." Clara said. And Rigsy lead them to a small office that clearly hadn't been used in some time. Everything as coated with dust and Aderyn had to remove some spiders from the door before they could open it.

Once inside, they allowed themselves a moment of relief. It was clear to them that they weren't being pursued. Aderyn hadn't liked the idea of being in the office. She felt too much like they had backed themselves into a corner.

She gave Clara back her earpiece, but Clara didn't put it back in her ear. She wanted to focus on getting them all out of their current predicament and not listening out for tiny noises that may, or may not, be the Doctor. Aderyn stood in a corner and went to work on her own earpiece.

"Right," Clara said "the last thing the Doctor said was that the TARDIS needed energy. He said if it gets energy, he can beat them." Both she and Aderyn put their earpieces back in, happier in themselves knowing there was the possibility they could do something.

Neither Aderyn or Clara heard the Doctor's protests. He could hear them from within the seige mode TARDIS, he could hear they were planning something. And no matter how much he shouted at them to just leave while they could, they didn't hear him.

"So we need to find a way of getting energy into the TARDIS. But those things drained the TARDIS of energy." Aderyn said.

"So we find a way of making them give it back." Clara said. Her and Aderyn looked at each other, a single thought crossing both of their minds. They smiled and turned to look at Rigsy.

"Your graffiti work any good?" Aderyn asked.

"I like to think so. But this isn't the time." Rigsy said.

"It's just the time." Clara said. She grabbed an old, battered looking poster that had been on one of the many shelves in the office. She unfurled it and laid it on the table, blank side up. Aderyn found several things around the room to weigh it down. Clara found a can of spray paint on a shelf and threw it to Rigsy. "Come on, Graffiti boy. I've got a commission for you."


	20. I Tried to Talk

They watched Rigsy work, only Aderyn and Clara having any idea what the plan was.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor didn't have the same hope as them. With no power, the TARDIS interior had grown cold. He rubbed his hands together and breathed into them. But his breath misted before him and he soon couldn't feel his fingers. He had tried desperately to think of a way out of this, but had been able to think of nothing. He paced around the console, resigning himself to his fate. "Life support failing. I don't know if you'll ever hear this. I don't even know if you're both alive out there. But Clara, you were a mighty fine Doctor. Little Bird, I'm sorry. I should have done more." He said. He sat on the steps and turned his collar up to shield his ears against the cold.

Clara and Aderyn were in a brighter mood than he would have expected. They had found a glimmer of hope and were holding onto it. So far their plan was going well. Rigsy had proven himself to be a dab hand with a can of spray paint and his latest work of art had been stuck to the wall next to the track. The TARDIS was placed on a metal ledge on the other side of the wall and they waited.

"This is a ridiculous plan." Fenton grumbled under his breath.

"You can only say that if it fails." Aderyn said. They didn't have long to wait.

The creatures lurched and jerked their way down the tunnel until they came across a door. Whatever contraption their prey held had been set to work again. They put all of their power into turning this two dimensional door into a 3D one. But no matter how hard they tried, nothing happened. But they persevered. None of them realised it wasn't a real door. None of them saw the corners of the poster come away from the wall.

On the other side of the wall, the seige cube started to shake as it absorbed the power the creatures were throwing at the door Rigsy had painted on the back of the poster, the energy they were throwing through the wall.

"We need to move. Best not to be too close if this works." Aderyn said. She, Clara, Rigsy and Fenton stepped back. The cube flew off the ledge. It changed size and shape in mid air before landing amongst the creatures on the tracks.

They climbed quickly onto the track as a force field from the TARDIS sent the creatures flying in all directions and the Doctor's voice boomed out of the tannoy.

"I tried to talk. I want you to remember that. I tried to reach out, I tried to understand you, but I think that you understand us perfectly. And I think you just don't care. And I don't know whether you are here to invade, infiltrate or just replace us. I don't suppose it really matters now. You are monsters. That is the role you seem determined to play. So it seems I must play mine." The Doctor threw open the TARDIS doors, emerging looking no worse for wear "The man that stops the monsters. I'm sending you back to your own dimension. Who knows? Some of you may even survive the trip. And, if you do, remember this. You are not welcome here. This plane is protected. I am the Doctor." Clara threw him his sonic screwdriver and he caught it "And I name you The Boneless." He pointed his sonic at the force field and fizzes and zaps of energy hit the creatures, causing them to disintegrate with a horrid squeal. The Doctor smiled at Clara and Aderyn.


	21. A Damn Fine Hero

The Doctor had got them all on board the TARDIS and back to the waste ground where they'd fist landed. The train driver and Fenton left the TARDIS quickly. Aderyn, the Doctor, Clara and Rigsy took their time exiting the safety of the ship. As soon as he did leave the TARDIS, Rigsy took his phone out of his pocket and made a phone call.

The Doctor looked from Aderyn to Clara "Are you both okay?" He asked.

Clara shrugged "I'm alive."

Aderyn scratched the back of her head "People died."

Fenton, who had been stood close by looked at her "It's like a forest fire, though, isn't it? The objective is to save the great trees, not the brushwood. Am I right?"

The Doctor automatically grabbed hold of Aderyn's arm to stop her lunging at Fenton "It wasn't a fire. Those weren't trees. They were people. Living breathing people. They had lives." Aderyn said.

"They were Community Payback scum bags, I wouldn't lose any sleep." Fenton said.

"I bet you won't." The Doctor said. When Fenton had started to walk away he let go of Aderyn's arm. That was a bad idea. As soon as the Doctor let her go, Aderyn grabbed a rock from the ground and raised her hand above her head ready to throw it. Luckily for Fenton, the Doctor grabbed hold of Aderyn just as she went to launch the stone from her grip and it landed short with a loud thud.

"You should have let me hit him." Aderyn protested.

"Yes, a lot of people died and maybe the wrong people survived." The Doctor said. "If you can't play nice then go and wait in the TARDIS."

Aderyn opened and closed her mouth a few times. She couldn't think of a good come back so she flounced off into the TARDIS. "I wasn't actually expecting that to work." The Doctor said.

"We saved the world though." Clara reasoned.

"We did. You did." The Doctor said.

"I was you today. I was the Doctor. And, apparently, I was quite good at it."

The Doctor paled "You heard that?"

"Yeah." Clara said "but the power was going off so I suppose you were delirious. You didn't know what you were saying."

"Exactly." The Doctor said.

Rigsy, having finished his phone call, walked over to them.

"Ah! The return of the fluorescent pudding brain." The Doctor said with a smile.

"Doctor, you know he can hear you now." Clara said. She then smiled apologetically at Rigsy.

"I know. Your last painting was so good it saved the world. I can't wait to see what you do next." He extended his hand to Rigsy, who shook it.

"Thank you both." Rigsy said. "And thank..." He paused for a moment then waved at the TARDIS "Whatever her name is, I know it's a weird name. Catch you round maybe." Once Rigsy had parted the Doctor turned to go into the TARDIS.

"Admit it. I did well. Just say it. Why can't you just say it? Why can't you just say I did good? I was the Doctor and I was good." Clara said.

The Doctor shrugged "You were an exceptional Doctor, Clara."

"Thank you." Clara said.

"Goodness has nothing to do with it." The Doctor pushed open the TARDIS door.

"Doctor, once last thing before you go in there. I think you should have a word with Aderyn."

"Why?"

"Because we both heard what you said. And I'm sorry for arguing with her so much."

The Doctor gave her a half smile "Just try not to do it so much."

When they landed at Clara's, Clara didn't want to leave the TARDIS, but she had too much to deal with. Danny would be suspicious after that phone call.

"We better stick to Wednesdays again, Doctor. At least until I've spoken to Danny." Clara said. The Doctor just nodded.

"Give my regards to Danny." Aderyn called to Clara as she left the TARDIS. Clara waved back in response.

"It was nice to see you two getting on so well." The Doctor said.

"We all act strangely sometimes." Aderyn said lightly.

"So where to next?"

"Doctor?" Aderyn said slowly and quietly.

"Yes?" The Doctor looked around the console at her. She was staring fixedly at a point on the console and refused to turn her gaze to him.

"I heard what you said." She said.

"I know." The Doctor said. He then busied himself with nothing in particular. He just wanted to look like he was doing something. He could feel discomfort pouring off Aderyn.

"Thanks."

"What for?" The Doctor asked.

Aderyn still didn't look at the Doctor, but she turned around and leant against the console. She crossed her arms and looked down at her feet. "You said you should have done more. I don't think there was more you could have done. I've got this far in life because of everything you've done for me. Even if I didn't realise you were helping me at the time. At the end of the day, you don't need to be a good man to be the Doctor."

"No?"

Aderyn finally looked up at the Doctor. "No. You just need to be you. And by that I mean actually you, not some cliche way of saying that everyone just needs to be themselves."

The Doctor flipped a few switches on the console "So you don't think I'm a good man?"

"No, I don't think you are. You have good intentions, but sometimes it can be hard to see that."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm glad you see it that way."

Aderyn smiled at him "Hey, you may not be a good man, but you're a damn fine hero. Now I believe there's an adventure out there it our names on it."


	22. No Wonder You Got Lost

The Doctor liked Wednesdays. Wednesdays meant they went and picked up Clara.

Aderyn wasn't too keen on Wednesdays. She was finding it easier to avoid picking arguments with Clara. She reasoned with herself that she had no real reason for hating Clara. She had disliked Clara because she wasn't Oswin Oswald, who they'd met at the Dalek Asylum. And she wasn't Clara Oswin Oswald, who they'd met in Victorian London. She wasn't the two women who had saved their lives. That was her only reason for disliking Clara. She almost laughed when she realised that she didn't actually dislike Clara. Well, life would certainly be easier now. But she still wasn't fond of Wednesdays. Clara Oswin Oswald had been the one to steal the Doctor's attention when she'd needed it. It was not going to be easy to separate that version of Clara from the one they knew now. After all, back in the Dalek Asylum they hadn't actually seen Oswin Oswald's face, so Aderyn couldn't connect the two people.

Thankfully for Aderyn, they hadn't reached Wednesday yet. And she was enjoying spending time with the Doctor. They had run around and gone to far flung corners of the universe. But what she found herself enjoying the most was the day spent in the console room. The Doctor had decided that the TARDIS needed to be tidied. So he'd parked them in London and the pair rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in. They dusted and cleaned the console, organized books on the shelves and Aderyn had spoken about repainting the exterior. All was peaceful inside the TARDIS when there was a frantic knock on the door.

The Doctor frowned and put a stack of books on the floor. He walked quickly to the door and threw it open. He looked down.

A small girl looked up at him "I'm lost. Can you please help me?" She said.

The Doctor pointed over her shoulder "It's that way." And he closed the door.

Aderyn frowned at him "Who was that?" She asked. But the Doctor didn't answer.

"Trees." He said. He wrenched open the door again. The girl was still there. "Are those trees?" he asked her.

The girl nodded "I need the Doctor. Are you the Doctor?"

The Doctor crouched down so he was eye level with the child. "Yes. Do you have an appointment? You need an appointment to see the Doctor."

"Something is chasing me." The girl said quickly.

"Did you say trees?" Aderyn asked, appearing behind the Doctor. She looked down at the girl "Hello. Did you say something is chasing you?" The girl nodded. Aderyn flashed a friendly smile "Well, you'd better come in then." She nudged the Doctor, who stood and moved aside. As the girl entered the TARDIS he raised an eyebrow at Aderyn.

Aderyn crossed her arms "What? She's clearly lost and if something is chasing her we can't just leave her out there." They both looked over at the girl, who seemed strangely unphased by the TARDIS. Aderyn closed the door.

When Aderyn approached the console, the girl looked around at the Doctor.

"When you drink a glass of Coke, it's only this big," he held his hands up, palms facing each other a few inches apart. "but it's actually got this much sugar in it." he held his hands out to his sides, arms fully outstretched. "It works like that."

"What does?" She asked.

"The TARDIS. It's bigger on the inside than the outside, or did you not notice?" The Doctor said, visibly deflating.

"I just thought it was meant to be bigger on the inside, so I didn't say anything." The girl shrugged.

The Doctor let his hands drop and strolled along the gallery to the nearest bookcase.

"It is meant to be like that," Aderyn said kindly "It confuses most people."

"Almost everything confuses me. So, I don't say anything. That's how come I'm in the woods. I thought Miss Oswald told me to find the Doctor. But it wasn't her. It was just in my head."

Aderyn raised an eyebrow " Miss Oswald? Dark hair? Highly unpredictable? Surprisingly round face?"

"Everyone says she's in love with Mr Pink."

Aderyn sighed "Ozzy loves the squaddie."

"The PE teacher?" The Doctor asked. He had collected a map from the bookcase and unfolded it.

"Maths." Aderyn said.

"I really like him. I was in his group."

The Doctor folded the map and looked at the girl, who was staring at the lights on the console.

"Mr Pink was looking after you? No wonder you got lost." He said bitterly.

The girl turned suddenly to Aderyn "I remember you. You're Miss Tyler. You taught science at my school for a while."

"I did." Aderyn said. "Now, tell me again, why aren't you with the rest of your group?"

"Because I thought Miss Oswald told me to find the Doctor."

"But she didn't?"

"No. It was just in my head."

Aderyn shot the Doctor a concerned glance before turning a smile on the girl "Well, lets see if we can find Miss Oswald and Mr Pink, shall we?"


End file.
